Door is open for Lewington to help Lindsey behind-the-scenes at MK Dons

There could be a more permanent coaching role on the cards for Dean Lewington after he met with new boss Scott Lindsey to discuss his future at MK Dons.

The 40-year-old was placed in interim-charge of the side for the home game against Doncaster Rovers following Mike Williamson’s departure a couple of weeks ago, and prior to the former Crawley man taking over six days later. Speaking about taking the job on a permanent basis, Lewington did not hide his interest, signalling his intent to take on a bigger role at the club for the first time.

Seeing his playing time greatly reduced over the last 18 months, Lewington has had to play a different role in the dressing room lately, and after a meeting with Lindsey, has spoken of his intention of taking on more responsibility behind-the-scenes.

Lindsey explained: “I had a really good chat with him, because I don't want to put him in a role he's not comfortable with. He's made it clear coaching is a route he wants to take, so I thought 'brilliant, in you come then.'

“We want to learn off him, but for him to learn from us too. The door is open and I want him to be in with the staff and work closely with us, and be something of a player-coach.

“There will be times when he plays but we want to keep him close. He's got bags of experience, he's been here a long, long time and we want him to be part of what we do moving forward.

“He's a good character, you can see straight away he's a liked by everyone in the group and it's important we have that. At Crawley, we had Ben Gladwin. He retired last season and became part of the coaching staff there, and he played that role for me. It's important to have that.

“We want him to be in with the coaches and put sessions on as well, because I think eventually he'll be a good coach and a good manager one day too. But he's starting, on the first rung of that ladder of that journey, and I'm here to help him with that.”