Grant is excited for the new season at MK Dons

Conor Grant celebrated his 21st birthday with his family on Saturday after MK Dons’ 3-1 win over Barnet in their final pre-season friendly of the summer, but he had half a mind on the new season looming.

The Irishman, who signed from Rochdale earlier this summer, played 77 minutes at The Hive as Liam Manning gave the final run-out to his senior players before the League One campaign kicks off this coming weekend against Cambridge United at The Abbey Stadium.

Grant, who played a part in all of the preparation games this month, said the final pre-season match, which took place on his birthday, has the whole squad excited for the short trip to Cambridge next Saturday.

“I cannot wait,” he said. “We don't really like pre-season but it has to be done! We're all just raring to go on Saturday. We want to play in front of busy stadiums, in competitive games. Hopefully we have a good year.”

On the win at Barnet, he added: “It was very nice - it's important to have a winning mentality in pre-season and it will only benefit us going into the season.”

After making the switch from Rochdale, who struggled at the wrong end of League Two last season, Grant admitted making the move to Dons has been a learning experience thus far, with plenty to take on board to get on top of the way he will be asked to play in Liam Manning’s system this season.

He said: “It's a different style of football we play here so I'm learning every day, getting used to the relationships on and off the field. There's a lot of information to take in, but that's what we like. I’ve really enjoyed it so far.

“We're all good players here, and it's easier out there on the pitch when you're playing with good players like that. We're a good group, I've settled in really well and I'm delighted to be here.”