Lindsey wants to add but knows he must further trim MK Dons' big squad

Head coach Scott Lindsey still wants one or two more signings through the door at MK Dons, but admits he still has to trim weight off his squad.

Four players have departed Stadium MK so far this month - Tommy Leigh, Stephen Wearne and Brooklyn Ilunga on permanent deals, while Nathan Harness has gone on loan - while two so far - Jay Williams and Dan Crowley - have arrived. But there are still too many in the building according to Lindsey.

“I think we're maybe one or two off, but I don't want to go and sign two more and then we've got too many players again,” he said. “We have to be really efficient with the business we do. We're not miles away from where we need to be.

“We've not brought the two signings in to sit on the bench, we've brought them in to play. I think they both make us stronger. We're still too big, we need to streamline a bit more, and we expect a little bit more business yet. “

With regards to both Wearne and Ilunga’s departures this week, Lindsey said both were set to see their first-team opportunities lessened as a result of the Crowley and Williams additions.

He continued: “Brooklyn will be a really good player one day, I really like him. It's a good signing for Bromley.

“Everyone wins - when a player comes through your academy to play in your first-team, or they move on and play elsewhere, it's still job done in a way because you've produced a player. Of course we want to produce players for us long-term, but if we feel they're not quite ready, it's only fair to let them play elsewhere. It's still a plus in our camp.

“Because the squad is so big, we had to be fair to him and admit his game time would also be limited. He's a player who will go on to have a really good career.

“I really liked Wearney, he's a great lad. He's really committed, worked his socks off every day and showed his desire on and off the pitch every day. But his game time was going to be limited, so it was fair to him to go and play football.”

Harness meanwhile joined Southend on loan on Wednesday night, and went straight into the Shrimpers’ starting line-up to face Boston, only for the game to be abandoned just a handful of minutes after kick-off due to fog.

On Harness, Lindsey added: “With Nathan, it is vital for his development that he goes and plays. We look at his age, and he's not played enough games for how old he is so it's important he goes and plays games to keep developing as a goalkeeper.”