Vertu Trophy game with Swindon Town very much secondary in Warne's plans

MK Dons’ final Vertu Trophy game of the season will play second-fiddle to next Saturday’s clash with Salford City, with boss Paul Warne set to make wholesale changes.

Defeats to West Ham U21s and Reading in the competition so far leave Dons bottom of Southern Section Group D without a point and unable to qualify for the next round.

Tuesday night’s opponents Swindon are still in with a sniff of qualification though, and could still book their spot in the second round should they beat Dons by more than two goals which would see them jump Reading.

Competition rules dictate Dons must play five ‘first-team’ players for the game, but Warne has used it as an opportunity to give minutes to those outside of his regular starters - the likes of Nathan Thompson, Jonathan Leko and Kane Thompson-Sommers - while giving opportunities to academy players to gain first-team experience.

Taking on Karl Robinson’s Salford at Stadium MK on Saturday as fourth host third in League Two, Warne said his attention will be on the Ammies rather than the Robins on Tuesday night.

“There will be significant changes, I think it’s fair to say,” said the head coach ahead of the game. “What’s the most I can do - 11 changes? There’s a good chance I’ll do that. I’ll obivously mix it up because the main focus will be on our game next Saturday.”

Swindon boss Ian Holloway is also set to make changes to his side ahead of the game too.

He said: “Can we actually go to MK Dons and beat them by two goals? That’s what our challenge is. I am looking forward to it. Whoever's in the team will have a chance to show me that they really want to stay there.

“Last year we lost, when we went one up, and then we didn't get anywhere near them, and then we they played us off the park. They have a very different team, got different managers, so can't wait to take my team there, whoever is going to be, and I'm going to try and go and try and win.”