Lewington says he 'loves playing for MK' as he equals 43-year-old record

Dean Lewington said feels in a good place again after he drew level with a 43-year-old EFL record on Saturday.

John Trollope's 770 games for Swindon Town was equalled by the MK Dons skipper during the 3-1 win over Morecambe, with the 39-year-old set to become the player with the more league appearances for one club on Boxing Day when Colchester United head to Stadium MK.

Lewington, not ordinarily one to celebrate his landmarks, admitted equalling the record was 'a pretty cool achievement' when he spoke after the game, and was pleased to see a familiar face in the form of the man who gave him his first MK Dons appearance back in 2004 in attendance at the Mazuma Stadium too.

"It's alright, isn't it! It's nice, it's a pretty cool achievement," he said. "It was nice that Stuart Murdoch was here today, the man who gave me my debut.

"I love playing football, I love playing for MK, I love where the club is going at the moment, I love the style of the team, and it's good to be playing. The records keep on coming, and that's great, but more importantly the club is going in the right direction and is back in a positive place again.

"It's unusual nowadays (to play so many games for one club) but it has been a great journey. It's had highs and lows like anything but the struggles are always the fun bit, it's why I keep doing it."

Rarely for Lewington, 2023 has been a year hampered by injuries. Suffering a hamstring problem in November of 2022, the skipper needed surgery before making his return towards the latter part of last season, then suffered a string of injuries at the start of this season, something he put down to trying hard to impress former boss Graham Alexander.

Now back at full fitness though, Lewington feels the worst of it is behind him.

He said: "It was a bit surreal. Last Christmas, I had my operation, I'd taken charge of a couple of games as well! I was out, came back and played, and obviously was disappointed to go down at the end of the season.

"It has been frustrating for me this season, I've just kept picking up little niggles. In the summer with the new manager, I probably should have stopped sooner, but I was trying to impress and show some grit but I think I damaged myself more than we expected. Hopefully I'm over the worst of it."