Dons were ‘ripped apart’ after missing promotion - Warne

Derby manager Paul Warne admits he felt MK Dons should have won promotion to the Championship last season and are now paying for it after being ‘ripped apart’ in the summer.

Warne is no stranger to going toe-to-toe with MK Dons recently. The Derby boss guided Rotherham to promotion at Dons’ expense last season, pipping Manning’s side to the final automatic spot in the final day of the season, leaving Dons to miss out in the play-offs.

With Dons’ losing key players, and bringing in 14 new faces in the summer, they have found life hard at the start of this season and sit 21st in the table.

Warne meanwhile left Rotherham to take up the Pride Park hotseat in September, keen to replicate his promotion winning campaign he had with the Millers but with the Rams this time around.

Heading to Stadium MK on Saturday, Warne was full of praise for Manning and his side’s achievements last season, and warned of a tough afternoon for his side.

“I’ve always liked Liam Manning,” he said. “He’s a really good bloke and he’s had a really good coaching career so far. Liam and his staff have got a style and a DNA in the way they want to play.

“Their team got ripped apart in the summer; I thought they thoroughly deserved to go up last year but they didn’t. They’ve had to start again with a new team and it’s not easy, it takes time.

“It’s no secret that they like to play out from the back, they like to keep the ball and are patient and try and probe you and pull you apart. Every game I’ve managed against an MK Dons team has been tricky to say the least. I have the utmost respect for them.

“They are a really good club, have a really good footballing ethos and are really difficult to play against but as all clubs in League One are, they are beatable too.”