Lewington struggled to give criticism to team-mates while he was sidelined

While sat on the sidelines, injured captain Dean Lewington found it difficult to be as critical of his MK Dons team-mates as he would have if he had still been playing.

Missing nearly four months after hamstring surgery, the 38-year-old said he quickly reverted to being a fan when it came to watching Dons games while he was out.

But while he is more than comfortable in snapping at his team-mates on the pitch and in training, his experience told him being as demanding and critical of the players while he wasn’t playing could fall on deaf ears.

“I'm a frustrated injured player. Very quickly, you slip into being a fan - asking why we're doing that, what's he doing?! It's really easy to slip into that.

“There were some home games, like the Shrewsbury one, where we deserved more but didn't get it, and there's nothing you can do to influence it. That's the case when I was watching it.

“As the captain as well, as someone who wants to say something, it's hard from the side.

“Criticism from outside is different than when it's from the inside. When you're playing, it looks and feels different, so when someone tells you 'just do this' we'd all be in the Premier League.

“As much as I wanted to support and help people, I felt I couldn't criticise too much because I wasn't out there.

“So it's been nice to be back, even in training, to start snapping at people and pushing them in the right direction. It's easier to lead from the pitch than the sidelines.”