Pressure mounting on two former MK Dons bosses after poor runs
Neither former head coach were happy men after their respective sides were well-beaten on Saturday
It was not a good weekend for two former MK Dons head coaches as pressure mounts on them at their current clubs.
Liam Manning led Dons to third place in League One in 2021/22, narrowly missing out on automatic promotion by just a point to Rotherham United, then led by current Dons chief Paul Warne.
Leaving in 2022, Manning had spells at Oxford United and Bristol City before taking over at Norwich City in the summer, but life at his home-town club has not been good thus far. Just two wins from 13 in the Championship so far see the Canaries sat second from bottom, with only troubled Sheffield Wednesday below them in the standings.
Saturday’s 2-0 defeat to Hull City at Carrow Road is the sixth in a row for Manning’s side, and the seventh in eight games, with their last victory coming back in August.
After fans called for his head following the loss, Manning said: “I apologise to the fans for that, it's not good from me. I'm hurting, it's not the right thing to do and I apologise to everyone for that.
“Clearly there's a lot that needs to change. We have to look in-house and change.”
Another former Dons chief Scott Lindsey too is coming under mounting pressure at Crawley Town following their FA Cup first round exit at the hands of non-league side Boreham Wood. Lindsey’s five-month tenure in charge at Stadium MK started well but spiralled out of control at the turn of 2025, and he was sacked with the side struggling near the foot of League Two.
Returning to Crawley Town, he oversaw their relegation back to the fourth tier, where a poor start to the season sees them in the relegation zone with just three wins to their name this term. Despite an emphatic 4-0 win over Bristol Rovers in their last league encounter, the 3-0 reverse at the hands of National League side Boreham Wood had some fans on social media calling for Lindsey’s time to be up at the Broadfield Stadium.
“Embarrassing, disgusting performance, wasn’t up to it,” he said afterwards. “It just seemed to me as if we were doing something that…well I don’t know what we were doing. I don’t know what we were doing.
“We were miles off. I want to apologise to the fans for that performance. That ain’t me. I’m disappointed.”