Dons must be prepared for significant interest in their squad this summer

Some MK Dons players will have played their final game for the club after the disappointing end to the season on Sunday night, but Liam Manning says the club must be prepared for another shake up this summer.

For certain, Jamie Cumming (Chelsea), Kaine Kesler-Hayden (Aston Villa, Conor Coventry (West Ham), Theo Corbeanu (Wolves) and Troy Parrott (Tottenham), will be returning to their parent clubs at the end of their loan spells, while Hiram Boateng, Josh McEachran and Connor Wickham are just a few out of contract, and there will be inevitable interest for the likes of Scott Twine and Harry Darling. Manning too has been subject of speculation, linking him with the job at QPR after guiding his side to third place in League One.

After the squad went through a shake-up in January too, seeing nine leave and seven arrive, the head coach admits there could be another significant change to his side after missing out on promotion to the Championship.

He said: “You'll never stop the speculation and it should be a huge compliment for the club, for Liam Sweeting who does the recruitment, and for the staff who put the work into the players.

“We're in League One, there will always be teams above us looking, so we have to be prepared.

“There was a lot of panic in January when we lost a lot of players, but we showed we're proactive and we're working hard behind the scenes for things that can happen.”

On his own future at the club, he said: “We'll go away, and reflect on the season. I want to be the best I can. We didn't get everything right, but I have to thank the staff around me. They've all done a fantastic job. I'm so grateful for the help and support they've given me.”