Experienced Dons trio praised for settling ship during unsteady time

The experienced heads of Dean Lewington, David Martin and Bradley Johnson have steadied the ship as best they can while MK Dons’ search for a new head coach continues, says Zak Jules.

Lewington stepped into the breach when Liam Manning was sacked, and guided the side through games against Bristol Rovers and Portsmouth before going for hamstring surgery.

Johnson then took over for the Carabao Cup game against Leicester City, while goalkeeper Martin has acted as assistant manager to both during this period.

With the uncertain nature behind-the-scenes at Stadium MK, defender Jules said the trio have been exemplary in the way they have put the club first during the last couple of weeks.

“Having someone like Skip in the dressing room is our comfort - he’s definitely mine,” he said. “With his experience and calmness, he is MK Dons in a nutshell. Having him take over in the short-term has meant it hasn’t been that bad in all honesty.

“When you see someone like him on the side lines in charge of the game, you naturally want to give your all for him because he does the same for the team.

“Brad has so much experience too, he’s played at the highest level. The knowledge he has is invaluable so it’s hard not to respect someone like that when he’s filling in and leading the boys in a situation like tonight. It was pretty much the same.”

Despite the lengthy nature of the new head coach hunt, Jules said he and the rest of his team-mates have faith in the system and the recruitment process behind-the-scenes. And he feels whoever does come in to replace Manning inherits a good dressing room full of strong characters eager to do well by the club.

Jules continued: “From the beginning, the club has always done well with recruiting very good people so it was not going to be a distraction.

“We’re just cracking on with it, working hard and waiting to see who comes in. Whoever comes in will be very fortunate to come into a really good dressing room full of really good people.”