"Real leader, real captain" Gilbey leads MK Dons by example

Scott Lindsey missed out on winning the Manager of the Month award for November but waxed lyrical about his captain Alex Gilbey after claiming the Player of the Month trophy.

The 30-year-old, celebrating his birthday earlier this week, claimed the prize on Friday as the stand-out player in League Two, while the head coach missed out on his first Manager of the Month prize, picked up by Morecambe’s Derek Adams.

Gilbey, according to Lindsey, has played a pivotal role in helping integrate the new management staff within the squad, with his award very much justified.

“He has been outstanding not just on the pitch but off it as well,” said Lindsey. “He's a real leader, a real captain and leads by example. You can see by his running stats how hard he works, and he's a great lad as well, really likeable. He's been amazing for us this season.”

In the form of his life during his second spell at Stadium MK, has scored 21 goals since his return to the club 18 months ago - a purple patch the likes of which he has never achieved before. His performances though, in particular his eye for goals, scoring four in the last three, have not been a surprise to the head coach.

Lindsey added: “His goals haven't surprised me, because I think he has it in his game. We're not a team that crosses the ball a lot, but we wait until we're in a better position.

“The crosses we put in are about quality than quality, so we put a lot of effort into timing those from the number 10s, and he arrives in the box perfectly on a number of occasions.

“He can finish, he can score with his head, and I think he will run close to being top scorer this season.”

Defender Nico Lawrence was also full of praise for both the captain and the head coach following their nominations, adding: “The way the gaffer carries himself has filtered down to the rest of the team, and Gilbs too is a great captain, is always professional and sets his standards high. He can't stop scoring at the moment, and if he continues, we can't complain.”