Youth team mentality is helping MK Dons come out of their shells
The players are urged to play without fear under the new administration
Playing football under Paul Warne has the MK Dons players feeling like they are 15 again according to Liam Kelly.
The midfielder, who admitted he struggled under the pressure of expectation during his first season at Stadium MK, said Warne’s arrival at the club in April has lifted a cloud and helped the squad play with a smile on their faces again.
With a freedom to play and express themselves without the fear of repercussion, Kelly said it feels like he is back playing youth football again.
“It’s the freedom the gaffer has given us, it’s like playing in the U15s,” he said. “We just go out and play football, that’s massive for us. We’re free to make mistakes, which is a big thing. A lot of us were playing within ourselves because of how it was going.
“The gaffer is big on that. When you’ve played from U9s, until you get in the first team really, there’s no expectations, there’s nothing on the line. As soon as you get into the first-team, there’s that huge expectation, it’s all blown out of proportion. The gaffer is so keen for us to enjoy ourselves and playing with freedom.
“And that’s the good thing about it being the start of the season, right? We’ve not lost any games, and we’re in a position to go out and play. I think we’ll see that more this season.”
Kelly continued his good start to the season on Saturday as he helped Dons to a 2-0 win over Barrow at Holker Street, maintaining Warne’s unbeaten start to life at MK1. Nowhere near the possession-based style he played under both Mike Williamson and Scott Lindsey previously though, Kelly admitted there are differences to his role in the base of the midfield but nothing he cannot handle.
He continued: “The last few clubs I’ve been at have been a 3-box-3 formation, so my role is a bit different but I’ve enjoyed it. It’s not too different to what I’ve been used to, and we’ve all got the understanding of our roles too, which helps.
“I can just go and get on the ball, if it’s higher up so Kane (Thompson-Sommers) or Alex (Gilbey, who scored on Saturday) drops deeper, we all know the role of being in that midfield.”