MK Dons job was 'the perfect fit' for former boss Ince

Former manager Paul Ince admitted MK Dons was the perfect club for him when he first took over as manager in 2007.

The former Manchester United, Inter Milan and Liverpool midfielder saved Macclesfield Town from relegation to the Conference - now the National League - before taking over from Martin Allen, who had departed for Leicester City after just a year in charge.

Ince guided Dons to a league and cup double in his first season in charge before he too was snapped up by bigger fish in the form of Premier League Blackburn Rovers.

A second spell back at Stadium MK came in 2009/10, but he was sacked before the end of the season with the club in midtable. Spells at Notts County and Blackpool followed, before a lengthy spell away from management. Nearly a decade passed before he was appointed Reading boss in February 2022, but he was sacked 13 months later with the club on the brink of relegation to League One.

Speaking to DAZNbet, Ince admitted he is still on the hunt for a new management position, and is waiting for the right role to come about, citing his move to Milton Keynes in 2007 as the perfect opportunity.

He said: “MK Dons were a perfect fit for me. They’d just missed out on promotion the season before and they had a very good squad – making it easy for me to go in there. They just needed a little bit extra to get promoted and we did that in my first season in charge.

"There aren’t really any vacancies I’ve got my eye on at the moment. Christmas is around the corner and that makes it tough.

"I know that sackings are a part of football, but I never like to see a manager lose his job, nor do I enjoy talking about it. I’d love to go to a club where I’ve got a chance of achieving something. A lot of the teams I’ve managed were struggling to stay up.

"I’d want to go somewhere where I have a chance instead of fighting all the time! We’ll see what comes up."