Salary cap does little to alter Dons' summer recruitment plans

MK Dons do not have to change their targets as a result of the new salary cap introduced in League One last week.

Clubs voted unanimously to cap salaries at £2.5million last Friday to try and curb spending and, in light of the coronavirus pandemic, to prevent clubs from suffering further financial problems.

For Dons, Russell Martin says Dons were prepared for the cap to come into place and planned for next season as such. But he does not expect it to go down well in all quarters, with players and agents having to curb their demands to fit within budgets.

He said: "Players and agents will have to realign expectations, it will be a wake-up call to a lot of them. Until recently, the PFA have had real issues with what has gone on, so I'm sure there will be legal wranglings with that the EFL have voted for and they will fight hard for their earning potential.

"For us, we've planned for the salary cap, we've planned for beyond that. We've done a lot of work with Andy Cullen, Liam Sweeting and the chairman about it. We're ready for it. All the business we're hoping to do comes within it. I feel they could have taken a bit more time over it, but after what has happened in the last few months, it will make clubs a bit more sustainable."

Martin continued: "If I'm sitting here as the Sunderland manager, I'd probably say something different. If you look at it and think Sunderland have the same budget as someone like Accrington or Rochdale, no disrespect to those clubs, but in terms of size and fanbase, they could argue it's a bit unfair. But it places a lot more emphasis on good coaching and shrewd recruitment."