Richie doesn't rule out a Robbo reunion

Dons caretaker boss Richie Barker believes he and former manager Karl Robinson will work together again in the near future.
Karl Robinson and Richie BarkerKarl Robinson and Richie Barker
Karl Robinson and Richie Barker

Barker was Robinson's fourth and longest-serving number two at Stadium MK after John Gorman, Mick Harford and Gary Waddock.

After Robinson parted company with the club two weeks ago, Barker has been in temporary charge of the team until chairman Pete Winkelman picks a replacement.

But after ruling himself out of the running for the top job, Barker admits he would be keen to work with Robinson again.

"That’s a conversation we’ve had," he said. "I’m sure he’ll be trying to get back into the game quickly.

"We’ve got a study visit planned over the next few weeks to go and watch some teams abroad to see how they play and train. Hopefully it’ll make us five or ten per cent better than we were before.

"I think we’ve worked well together, we had a relative amount of success. And if he offered me the chance to work together again, then certainly."

Barker will remain in charge for today's (Saturday) FA Cup tie against Spennymoor Town and looks set to keep that job for Tuesday night's trip to Norwich City in the Checkatrade Trophy but admitted his future may lie elsewhere after that.

However, he says he's enjoying the challenges of leading the team while a replacement is being found.

He added: "I wasn’t sure what was going to happen before or after the Sheffield United game, but the plan was always to come back a couple of days later to find out. They want to me to take charge of Saturday with a view of Tuesday too.

"I’m just focusing on what we have to do. People keep asking me if it’s awkward but I’m just waking up and coming to work as normal. Knowing as early as Tuesday that I was in charge on Saturday made things a bit easier, because I knew I could focus the players. Hopefully I’ll have another conversation on Saturday and if I’m in charge still, we’ll crack on on Monday morning.

"I’m enjoying it. I haven’t had time to look for another job yet, but I’ll keep doing what I’m doing and start the job search next week."