Echoes from the past might just be a look into MK Dons’ present

Dean Lewington of MK Dons celebrates after gaining promotion to the Championship in 2015. There are plenty of similarities between Dons’ run to automatic promotion that year and the one Liam Manning’s side are on at the moment

Seven years ago, a seemingly innocuous 1-1 draw against Walsall ended a run of three consecutive defeats but sparked a remarkable unbeaten run of 11 games which ultimately fired Dons into the championship.

On Saturday, for the first time since then, Dons equalled that run with the 1-1 draw against fellow automatic promotion contenders Wigan Athletic.

With eight games to go this season, Dons are suitably placed to remain firmly in the hunt for a top-two spot, just as they were back in March 2015, but the similarities between the two are plentiful.

The game at the Banks’s Stadium came a week after Dons had lost more ground to Preston North End, who occupied second spot. Losing 2-0 at Stadium MK, Dons were fourth and seemingly out of the hunt for automatic promotion, but pretty secure in their spot in the play-offs.

Then boss Karl Robinson aid the 1-1 draw with Walsall was a ‘tick in the box towards the right direction.’ How right he would be.

The run thereafter though would see them steamroller their way into the hunt for automatic promotion again.

Harry Darling celebrates his eighth goal of the season, equalising late on against Wigan on Saturday

Dons’ fate since the turn of 2022 is an almost identical story now too, following their run. Suffering just one League One reverse, at the hands of Doncaster Rovers at home in mid-January, Liam Manning’s side have not only cruised into third spot in the table, with a healthy seven-point gap between themselves and Sunderland in the final play-off position, but fought their way into automatic contention.

While Dons were relatively under the radar back in 2015, their thumping 3-0 win over Swindon, live on TV, thrust them into the limelight as a team to be looked at just four matches into this run.

Modern-day Dons did the same with their win over leader Rotherham two weeks ago, beating them with 10-men for the majority of the game. If there were any questions about their promotion credentials prior to that game, more of them were answered after that.

During the 2014/15 run, Dons but up an air of confidence, particularly towards the end. They had nothing to really lose by that point. All eyes were on Preston, who could not afford to let their results slip for fears Dons would nip in at and nick their spot.

And to an extent now, with Wigan having two games in hand, Manning’s side can play without that pressure of holding onto something they dare not lose. For them, the pressure is effectively off. At this point, a spot in the automatic zone is for Rotherham or Wigan to lose.

The class of 2014/15 has been lauded as the best team Dons have ever assembled, but the current crop, should they continue their march for the remaining eight games, could yet eclipse them.