MK Dons in 2025: On the road to recovery after sinking to their lowest ebb

Twelve months ago, to say MK Dons were sat in the upper echelons of League Two again would be a hammer blow to the psyche and the narrative at the time. In reality, they came dangerously close to being far, far lower.

Heading into the new calendar, Dons had suffered a miserable Christmas period, but a win over Chesterfield on New Year’s Day appeared as though it would be the end of the bump in the road. The truth would turn out to be much worse - it was a false dawn.

From a relatively comfortable position, well-placed heading into the festive period, Dons would spiral out of control in the next three months. The January window was relatively quiet, all things considered. Jay Williams and Nathan Thompson appeared to be game-changers, but Thompson suffered a season-ending injury in only his second outing for the club - a cruel metaphor for what would be the rest of the campaign.

No matter what head coach Scott Lindsey did, nothing appeared to stick. A return of five points from a possible 33 would follow, but pressingly, performances were drastic too. Defeats at Barrow, at home to Bromley and away at Bradford City showed just how far off the mark Dons really were, and Jack Payne - once lauded in Dons’ midfield - struck the final blow from the penalty spot for Colchester at the start of March, sending Lindsey packing back to Crawley.

Thrust into the spotlight as the interim head coach, Ben Gladwin was tasked with holding the club’s hand through the remainder of the campaign - the bosses seemed keen to navigate the waters until the end of the season before plumping for a new man in charge. Results though continued to evade the war-ravaged Dons, and Gladwin’s job to hold their hands through appeared to be doing little other than continuing the slide. Blameless for his role in the interim, Gladwin cut a relieved figure when he was finally able to hand over responsibility to someone else.

That someone else would raise a lot of eyebrows in the EFL, but also signalled the intentions of the new ownership group as they landed Paul Warne, not long out of his role at Championship side Derby County.

His first job in his new surroundings was to avoid the drop. The four-month slide left Dons not looking up at the exit to League One, but down to the perils of the National League.

Four points from six over Easter weekend ensured Dons’ safety in Warne’s first two games, with two more goal-less draws following to round out the season but it meant an historic low for the team since their move to Milton Keynes: 19th in League Two.

In spite of the season and in spite of the misery which 2025 had brought, the mood felt lifted. Players smiled again, the tired ‘MK Way’ was no more, fans picked a new badge and a pink kit was launched.

Big name signings too were brought in - Warne’s influence, contacts and infectiousness drafted together a team not of the best players from League Two, but higher still. Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, Callum Paterson, Aaron Collins, Kane Wilson - players who graced bigger stages than the fourth tier.

One man they would have to do it without though was the man who they had done it with in every season prior. Dean Lewington, Mr MK Dons, hung up his boots. It was not the end to his playing career he deserved, but his legacy continues with his role in the newly formed development squad, and his name over the supporter’s bar at Stadium MK. Both he will take great pride in.

Many pundits expected Dons to dismiss the rest of the division with relative ease, but it has not been plain-sailing. In fact, it has been painful at times, mostly for the players. Big injuries have marred all but Paterson from the aforementioned list, with both Collins and Wilson suffering blows in their debuts for the club.

It has meant many of last season’s weary soldiers have had to take the lead this term, but the results have been markedly different. The likes of Liam Kelly, Aaron Nemane and Jack Sanders have come to the fore, keeper Craig MacGillivray has been a firm fixture (until he got his bell severely rung in Bromley) while skipper Alex Gilbey has continued to do what Alex Gilbey does. They haven’t run away with League Two, in fact they have only been top for about two hours all season thanks to an early kick-off. They simply sit close, there or thereabouts.

It all means Dons head out of 2025 in pretty similar shape to the way they came into it, at least on the surface. After the huge disappointment that was 2024, the club appeared to be making moves to get back to where they believe they belong. What 2025 showed in fact was that no-one has a divine right to anything in this game.

Heading into 2026, Dons still have their work cut out for them, they still have the same aspirations, expectations and demands on them and crucially, still want out of the fourth division.

This time though, their stars just might align.