Lewington does not rule himself out of the conversation to replace Williamson

Dean Lewington has not ruled out taking on the MK Dons job on a permanent basis after he was asked to step in as caretaker boss for a third time this week.

The 40-year-old has taken charge of the side on two previous occasions, overseeing a win, a draw and a defeat in his three games as caretaker, covering when Russell Martin and then Liam Manning departed a few years ago. On those occasions though, Lewington was a regular in the starting line-up, but this time around, the captain has made only three appearances this term.

He will take charge of a fourth game when Doncaster Rovers visit Stadium MK on Saturday, and admitted he does not know what the future holds for him beyond the full-time whistle, but did not rule out sitting down with sporting director Liam Sweeting, CEO Neil Hart and the new owners to discuss the role full time should they wish to consider him as a strong candidate.

“I'm not sure yet - we'll see,” he said when asked if he wanted the job. “It's come out of the blue, so I've not thought too far ahead. I've been doing this, preparing for the game and worrying about that further down the line.

“I think if there is a conversation to be had, I'll have it. It's down to Liam to sift through the candidates and see what direction the club want to go down - what style of manager they want and what they want to do.”

He continued: “I'm open to it but I'll leave it to the process to take care of it.

“This is a hugely talented squad. Whoever takes it over has a good base, a fantastic club with a fantastic stadium, new owners, it's all positive.”