Winkelman says league one 'powerhouse' MK Dons has to 'start moving in the right direction'

The club and manager Karl Robinson parted company last Sunday with the Dons sitting in 19th in Sky Bet League One, one point above the relegation zone, and without a home win since March.

It is the lowest league position the club has found itself since moving into Stadium MK.

Robinson had spent more than six years at the helm, and guided Dons to promotion to the Championship in May, 2015, only to see them relegated the following season.

Hopes were high that the club would make a serious challenge for an instant return to the second tier of English football, but it has proved to be a difficult start to the current campaign.

Ultimately that start was deemed unacceptable and Robinson has paid the price by losing his job, with Winkelman outlining the financial backing the manager has received, and suggesting the brand of football being offered up recently has simply not been good enough.

"This year we have got double the wage budget that we had the last time we were in league one, are seriously more powerful than the year we got promoted," the chairman told mkdons.com.

"We are a powerhouse in league one, we have some of the best players in the league, and to match the ambition of the club we have to start moving in the right direction.

"It is not going right at the moment, it has to go better than that, and I really want to see the players stand up and perform, because they are better than what we have been seeing.

"I know what we have in this club, I know why we have certain players in the club, there are 1,000s of games of experience between the players in our club.

"I am really looking forward to Saturday (at Sheffield United) to start moving the club in the right direction.

"All my supporters and myself are paying to watch football at the weekend, and we don't just want to watch our nice tippy-tappy football, we want to win games.

"We have gone too long not winning games, and we need to do something about that."

Winkelman will be hoping caretaker boss Richie Barker can begin that process when Dons travel to Bramall Lane to take on the Blades this Saturday.

The chairman and his associates at Stadium MK are currently sifting through the 200-plus applications received from people interested in taking on the manager's job at the club, with Winkelman hoping to begin interviewing this weekend.