Lewington is becoming a bigger presence in MK Dons’ dressing room

Despite having a career spanning almost 20 years, Dean Lewington is still learning new tricks, according to Liam Manning.

The head coach, who took over at the helm in August 2021 after Lewington’s solitary game in charge against Bolton Wanderers last season, said the skipper has been encouraged to be more of a vocal presence in the dressing room, delivering home truths as well as constructive criticism as and when needed.

Lewington is approaching his 900th career game, and could reach the milestone on Saturday against Cheltenham Town.

“He’s just terrific,” said Manning. “He’s really progressed with how he speaks to the group.

“When we came in, we gave him a big platform to talk to the group. His knowledge of the league, the game is outstanding.

“We’ve challenged him to be the voice in the changing room. He’s emotional when he needs to be, but has added a lot more content, more detail and there is a lot more constructive criticism more so than emotional rants. But there is room for both.

“He’s massive in the changing room, I pick his brains, and I challenge him to do different bits on the pitch too.”

Manning continued: “He’d be a terrific coach. He’s a real people person, he’s really good at how he communicates with people and his knowledge and experience, he has so much to give back to the game.

“When I see how he is with the younger players, after training, during games, he’s doing a lot of it already. He’s already doing a huge amount of coaching already.

“You’d definitely not think he was the oldest in the dressing room or that he’s played 900 games when you see how he is around the lads!

“I have nothing but compliments for him. It’s incredible what he’s done.”