The ex-Chelsea midfielder played alongside Warne at Rotherham

A former team-mate of Paul Warne’s has said his promotion with MK Dons comes as no surprise this season.

Ex-Chelsea, Leeds United and Millwall midfielder Jody Morris played with the Dons boss for a brief spell at Rotherham in 2004, and has followed Warne into coaching since hanging up his boots.

Warne celebrated his ninth career promotion on Saturday when he guided Dons back to League One via automatic promotion, and could this weekend seal the League Two title with victory over Fleetwood Town.

The early season favourites to win promotion and the division, Dons have been made to wait until the final day to put the final piece into place.

Having earned promotions with Rotherham and Derby prior to his arrival at Stadium MK, Morris described Warne’s appointment as a clever one from the board in Milton Keynes, and said seeing them return to the third tier is not a big surprise.

Speaking to FindSisterSites, Morris said: “I played with Paul Warne for a little bit at Rotherham and I think he's been a very successful manager, particularly in getting EFL promotions.

“I think it was a clever appointment from MK Dons, if I'm being honest. Whenever you're appointing a manager, I think you want people who have a history in getting out of leagues, and he's done it multiple times.

“It didn't quite go his way at Derby in the end, but I thought it was an astute appointment, and he's been doing a really good job.

“I'm not surprised that MK Dons got promoted. When you've got a manager that's done it multiple times, you'd like to think that he knows what the formula is.”