Winning promotion at MK Dons was easier said than done
Goal-scorer Nathaniel Mendez-Laing was delighted to complete part one of the pre-season plan
Winning automatic promotion was not as straight forward as it looked for MK Dons this season, according to Nathaniel Mendez-Laing.
While the club were tipped early on to not only claim promotion but also the League Two title after a big summer of spending, the tight nature of the division though saw Paul Warne’s side claim their spot in League One with one game to go, only taking top spot a week before the season comes to an end.
Mendez-Laing, the first of the big-name signings last summer, dropped two divisions to rejoin Warne at MK1 from Derby County but said while the club recruited big to make sure they got to this outcome, the business on the pitch was never going to be as easy.
“There is always relief when you get the job done, regardless of the pressure,” he said. “Everyone thought we would walk it but no league is like that, otherwise Manchester City would walk the Premier League every season.
“This was the plan, so it’s nice when a plan comes together. We’ve got this job done, but there is another job we want to accomplish so we’re fully focused on that now.”
And that job is to win at Fleetwood on Saturday to claim the League Two title, heading into League One with momentum to mount another challenge at the sharp end of the third tier.
Mendez-Laing continued: “It's the plan again. I can't read the future but it’s the plan we have. I’m fully focused on that now, going on to be champions. I’ve never done that in my career, I don’t think many of us have so it would be unbelievable to do it.
“I didn't just come here to get the club back to League One to stay there, the plan is to go up to the Championship and hopefully I can be a part of that and I can keep pushing MK Dons forwards.”
No stranger to promotions in his career, the Guatemalan lapped up the celebrations after Saturday’s 3-0 win over Tranmere Rovers, in which he scored a cracking opener on the volley in front of the Cowshed. Despite knowing the feeling of what it is like to achieve promotion, he said the feeling never gets old.
He added: “It’s amazing. I’ve been fortunate enough to have a couple of these in my career and the previous one never feels as good as the next one. You can’t explain it. I’m so glad we’ve done it at home in front of all our family, friends and the fans. Everyone deserves it.”