"He had tremendous faith in me": Sweeting on former MK Dons chairman Winkelman

Sporting Director Liam Sweeting spoke of his gratitude towards former MK Dons owner Pete Winkelman for giving him a chance to help lead the club in such a way.

Sweeting had been a part of the recruitment staff for several years before the behind-the-scenes landscape changed in the summer of 2021, introducing Sporting and Performance Director roles for Sweeting and Simon Crampton respectively. It promoted Sweeting to a bigger and more influential role, something he credits Winkelman for doing.

Following the club’s relegation to League Two, the former chairman said he had turned down Sweeting’s offer to resign from his post, giving him the backing to rebuild and help Dons get back into League One. And he continued to back the club until he eventually sold to Fahad Al Ghanim last month.

Paying tribute to the former owner and chairman, Sweeting said he had nothing but praise for Winkelman.

“I've got a lot of gratitude for Pete, and I learned so much from him on a human level,” he said. “The way he led, staff, his openness and authenticity of him. That will live long in the memory for me.

“How many owners come out in front of the cameras after a disappointing season? It does not happen, very few do that. He cared so deeply about what he built. He had tremendous faith in me, we had a great relationship and I learned so much about the game from him.

“There are so many stories I've heard about him, my phone was flooded with messages from people like Liam Manning and Russell Martin, people he'd given an opportunity to, and I'm an example of that.”

And though he is no longer working at the club, Sweeting said the former chairman was still as invested, saying: “I've seen him since, and he was still completely obsessed, he wanted to hear all about deadline day, this is his club and it always will be.

“I'm pleased he's still around, and in time, there will be more to talk about him because his impact on the city is tremendous.”