New boss has removed the element of fear MK Dons players were taking onto the pitch with them

A culture of fear was beginning to develop at MK Dons, with players afraid to make mistakes in games, Joe Tomlinson has said.

Errors proved costly for several players under Scott Lindsey’s watch, with those he felt culpable ultimately losing their place in the side, and for some, their place at the club too.

Tomlinson was himself a victim of that approach. Blamed for Walsall’s second goal in the 4-2 defeat back in January, he was dropped from the following game against Fleetwood Town, with the club signing Aston Villa’s Travis Patterson on loan to take over the reins from him.

Since the arrival of Paul Warne at the helm, Tomlinson believes there is less of an element of fear in the way the players feel when stepping out onto the pitch compared to times earlier this season when it weighed heavy upon them.

“He’s come in with a different energy which has been brilliant,” said Tomlinson. “We’re playing with a new freedom. Before, players were playing within themselves, weren’t playing to the best of their abilities, and he’s trying to bring that out again.

“He’s changing the dynamic as well. We’re allowed to make mistakes, we’re not scared to make mistakes now, which was a big point. There’s a bit of belief and positivity, energy, and it is showing on the pitch.”

No stranger now to having to prove himself to earn his way into the side, Tomlinson knows the whole squad is out to impress Warne heading into the final game of this season against Swindon Town on Saturday.

He continued: “I’ve never known a manager come into this situation so late in a season, but this season was never going to just filter out, we weren’t going on holiday or to the beach. We’ve got a new manager, we want to impress. We want it to keep going, but we’ll take a break, process it and move on.

“We have to take the positivity from the last few games into the new season, and learn from all the bad things too.”