'New boss will want 25 new players' after watching Dons' dismal defeat
Alex Gilbey spoke after MK Dons’ embarrassing 4-2 defeat at the hands of Fleetwood Town on Saturday
Captain Alex Gilbey has warned any potential suitors for the MK Dons head coach’s job they may need a whole new playing squad after a disastrous performance in the 4-2 thumping at the hands of Fleetwood Town on Saturday.
Despite leading through Danilo Orsi’s goal and dominating for large parts of the opening half, Matty Virtue’s goal on the stroke of half-time turned the game on it’s head for the second-half.
Lethargic, disinterested and massively underwhelming compared to the opening half, Dons allowed Fleetwood to brush them aside with ease, as James Bolton, Louis Marsh and Owen Devonport found the back of the net, before Scott Hogan’s classy volley late on gave Dons a consolation.
After appearing to have turned a corner after decent results away at Cheltenham and Carlisle earlier in the week, Gilbey admitted anyone wanting the top job on a permanent basis will have their work cut out to try to get a tune out of the team as it is at the moment.
“People who will want the job must be thinking how good a job it is, and then after seeing it today, he will need 25 new players,” said the captain. “It's embarrassing. That's how it has been all season.
“It's not just some players, it's every player who is contract to the club. People have said it in the past it's a nice place to come, we'll just show up, stroke it around. It's just so boring. With the foundations the club has, we're very lucky to have the things behind the scenes here, but ultimately we're letting the club down with the performances on the pitch.
“For 25 minutes, we were really good, effective. We were getting in behind, causing all sorts of threats. After that, it was like we thought it was too easy so we downed tools and we've been punished.
“We can't just keep crumbling when we concede. It happens in football. If we're going to be that soft and fall off a cliff because we've conceded just before half-time, we've got absolutely no chance. That's been the story of this season: we're so soft. Everybody, to a man. It was really poor.
“I just feel sorry for everyone involved with the club that we're dishing up performances like that.”
There were audible boos throughout the second-half in particular when Dons squandered chances to play forwards quickly, and especially when corners were played short, while Liam Kelly’s substitution was also met with ironic cheers as the former Crawley Town man left the field.
Discussing the boos from the supporters, Gilbey said: “Rightly so. Can you blame them? They've seen so much rubbish this season I'm surprised there are any punters left out there. We are very lucky here to have a positive group of fans who stick with us.
“I've been here through relegations, and people stuck with us. We go to appearances and to meet fans and they are so positive, but when are we going to repay them?
“We're lucky to have this fanbase, but we can't just take them for granted, turn up and deliver that dross and expect them to be alright with it. It's unfair.”