Wilbraham is excited to return to ‘special’ Stadium MK with Shrewsbury

Aaron Wilbraham returns to Stadium MK as part of Shrewsbury’s coaching staff on Saturday. He played more than 200 games for MK Dons in his career, netting 57 goals

Stadium MK and MK Dons still hold a special place in the heart of Aaron Wilbraham, but his mission on Saturday will be to upset the hand which once fed him.

Wilbraham spent five-and-a-half years in Milton Keynes, racking up more than 200 appearances and remains second in the club’s all-time leading scorers charts with 57.

Now 42, Wilbraham returns to MK1 with Shrewsbury Town tomorrow as assistant manager to Steve Cotterill as they look to make it four wins in a row, and do the double over Dons after their win at Montgomery Waters Meadow back in October.

Speaking ahead of tomorrow’s clash, Wilbraham admitted he fondly remembers his time at MK Dons.

“I had a really special time at MK,” he said. “I’ve still got my place there and I’ve still got a lot of friends there so I like going back there.

“Pete Winkleman, the Chairman, is a great guy and someone who really looked after me early on in my career so it’ll be good to catch up with some old faces, that’s for sure!”

Another familiar face could also be in the Shrewsbury fold, with academy product Tom Flanagan returning from international duty with Northern Ireland this week.

Wilbraham, right, was a part of MK Dons’ squad which won the double in 2007/08. Wednesday marked the 14th anniversary of their 2-0 win over Grimsby at Wembley to win the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy

While the 1-0 defeat earlier this season was considered an outlier and has been revisited regularly by Dons’ coaching staff since, Wilbraham admitted Shrewsbury too have come on leaps and bounds since the sides’ last meeting.

Back in October, Shrewsbury were mired in the relegation scrap but their form in the last couple of months has seen them climb away from the drop zone and into one of the meanest defences in League One.

Wilbraham added: “We’re looking forward to it; two in-form teams should make it a good game. They’ve had a bit of a break whereas we haven’t, but with no midweek game that shouldn’t make a difference and both teams will be fresh, I’m sure. They’re on a good run and we’re on a good run so it’s a game both sides will be looking forward to.

“I think they’re a possession-based team, they try and dominate possession and we know that. We’re quite good in those situations as a team but I don’t know if it’ll be a similar game to last time because I think both teams have come on a long way since then so yeah, it’ll be an exciting fixture that both sets of fans will be looking forward to and hopefully the lads can put on a good show.”