January window was a learning experience for Manning

“I understand it’s an industry where there are a lot of pressures, but you don’t have to trade off respect and integrity.”
Liam ManningLiam Manning
Liam Manning

Dealing with the January transfer window game Liam Manning a great insight into the wider world of football, but also cemented how he feels he wants to approach the way MK Dons do business going forwards.

A notoriously difficult month to negotiate, a lot of business is conducted at the last minute. Dons managed to get three deals over the line, signing Kaine Kesler, Matt Smith and Dan Kemp before the 11pm shutdown.

But Dons had a lot of obstacles to overcome too. Loan recalls caused them problems as four of their five from the start of the season went back to their parent clubs, and in the case of Ethan Robson at Blackpool and Peter Kioso at Luton, Dons were made to wait until the penultimate day of the window before definitively being told returns were not on the cards.

The club also had to deal with yet more bothering from Swansea City. Their public courtship of Russell Martin last August already left Dons with a bitter taste when dealing with the Championship side, and the same appeared to be happening again when rumours arose that Martin was seeking the signatures of Andrew Fisher, Matt O’Riley and Harry Darling. Ultimately, he would only come away with keeper Fisher, while O’Riley made a lucrative move to Celtic, and Darling stayed put.

The difference in approaches from the various clubs Dons dealt with in January gave Manning a lot to think about, but he said it only firmed up how he felt was the right way of going about doing business.

“It feels a lot longer than a month,” he said. “I learned a lot in terms of managing certain situations and how you communicate with people. It stresses my values as a person, operating with integrity, especially externally.

“I understand it's an industry where there are a lot of pressures, but you don't have to trade off respect and integrity.

“We learned a lot about how we want to be perceived as a group, and January has been really good for that. We've built a group of very decent people.”