Williamson confirmed as new Carlisle United boss

Mike Williamson has been confirmed as the new boss of Carlisle United.

The 40-year-old spent less than a year in charge at MK Dons, departing with the club 20th in League Two, two places above his new employers, with eight defeats from his last ten games.

Williamson departs after Dons initially turned down a request from the Cumbrians for his services earlier this week, before they then met the head coach’s release clause in his contract to enter talks, when he told his Stadium MK bosses he wanted to leave. He goes along with coaches Ian Watson, Chris Bell and Carl Magnay.

“I'm excited,” he said in his first interview at Carlisle. “It has been a whirlwind. I've just had a look around, it's a fantastic club an I'm excited to getting started. It has been manic.

“It's a difficult situation, but I spoke to the owners and as soon as I spoke to them, you could see the passion and values they embodied so it felt right.

“It's a really exciting time for the club. You can see all the developments doing on, but I want to get on the grass now, meet the lads. We want to come here and make sure we give everything we've got, and we're here to support the club.”

He continued: “You will see development. We've got a certain way we want to play, but we want to bring intensity and excitement. We want to attack the backline at every opportunity and we want the fans to get behind the team to create a real unity. When this place is rocking, it's a real force. It's about fast, attacking football, we want to score goals and get fans off their seats.”

The hunt for a new head coach at Stadium MK is underway, though Dean Lewington will, for a third time, step in to be the club’s caretaker boss for this weekend’s visit of Doncaster Rovers.

He first took charge in the aftermath of Russel Martin’s departure for Swansea in August 2022, and then again after Liam Manning was sacked in December 2023 prior to the arrival of Mark Jackson.