Goalkeeping philosophies starting to change again, according to Dons shot-stopper

With the era of ‘playing out’ rapidly going out of fashion at MK Dons, Craig MacGillivray is noticing a change in the expectations on goalkeepers.

For several years now, the pressure has been on the custodians to be as adept with their feet as they are with their hands, sometimes even more so. The approach though has not brought about good results for the club as they are set for their lowest ever league finish this season.

The style too came to haunt Crewe on Easter Monday. Filip Marschall, much maligned during his time at Stadium MK last season for being asked to play expansively with his feet, was caught in possession, allowing Scott Hogan to tap in the only goal of the game to secure victory for MK Dons.

With head coach Paul Warne coming into the team and tearing up the old ‘MK Way’ philosophy with immediate effect, MacGillivray has had less demands put on him to play with his feet, something which the keeper is starting to see at other clubs as well.

“The world is changing again in terms of goalkeeping again,” he said. “It did go down the route of keepers being an outfielder with gloves on, but even at the top level, a goalkeeper is a goalkeeper and they have a job to do.

“If you can play a nice, tidy pass and keep possession and keep it out at the same time, great, but ultimately your job it to stop it from going in the net. If you come off the pitch with a zero on the scoreboard, you’ve done your job. That’s what he wants from me, and that’s what I’m trying to do.”

Already lauded by Warne for keeping back-to-back clean sheets in two no-nonsense performances between the sticks against Newport and Crewe over Easter, MacGillivray feels Warne’s ideas are starting to show already at Stadium MK.

He continued: “I’ve enjoyed it. I’ve played against his teams a lot, and I don’t think he’s got a certain style of playing. People have said he’s a bit long-ball but that’s nothing like what we’ve been told to do since he’s been here.

“He prides himself on hard work. And we don’t win games if we don’t work hard. That is the bare minimum and the lads have bought into it.”