Kaikai's short time at MK Dons restored his love for football despite relegation

His time at MK Dons may have been a short one, but it was one which rekindled Sullay Kaikai’s love of football.

The 28-year-old winger moved to Stadium MK in January 2023 after 18-months at Wycombe Wanderers. But his time at Adams Park was limited to 32 appearances as the Sierra Leone international struggled for games and match-time under Gareth Ainsworth.

Making the switch to a struggling Dons side though, led by Mark Jackson, saw Kaikai playing regular football again, and even though it ended in relegation at the end of the season, it was a time which reignited his enjoyment of football again.

“It was really good at MK,” Kaikai told the Through a Different Lens podcast. “Going from not playing for 18 months at Wycombe to being a regular again, starting games, getting 90 minutes, I fell back in love with the game.

“I wasn't playing at Wycombe and I was frustrated. I wanted to get out in the summer, but I got injured so that hindered me. I wasn't back fit until three weeks into the season, so I just had to ride it out until January.

“(Dons) were fighting to stay up, in a relegation battle. We couldn't quite do it, it was just a little bit too late when we got going. For me, the style was really enjoyable and to be back playing was good for me. But it was bittersweet. It is never nice getting relegated.”

The season boiled down to a final day showdown with Burton Albion with Dons needing to better Cambridge United’s result in order to stay up. A game imprinted on Dons fans’ memories for all the wrong reasons, Dons drew 0-0 and dropped to League Two, with Kaikai making a move to the U’s for the following season.

Speaking about the final day, the 28-year-old said: “We had Burton away and all we needed was a win, to match or better Cambridge's result. We drew and it killed us.

“That Burton game... when I say we peppered them... we had so many shots on goal, something crazy, the keeper was doing a madness. We had goal-line clearances, everything you can imagine. We just got unlucky that day.”