This season, the one after relegation again right down to League Two in Might, began with such promise for MK Dons.
The vastly skilled Graham Alexander, appointed in late Might, mentioned he would work “every single minute to give the MK Dons supporters a team that had been successful” and, initially, he stayed true to his phrase; 4 wins from the primary 5 earned him the Sky Guess League Two Supervisor of the Month award.
Then the rhythm dropped, and drastically so: WWLWW grew to become LDLDLDL – and from first-place they dropped to sixteenth.
“We have unbelievable ways of shooting ourselves in the foot,” exclaimed Alexander after a 2-2 draw at house to Barrow on October 14, the place they shipped two targets in second-half stoppage time.
“It’s nothing to do with luck – ‘I hope our luck changes, I hope someone sprinkles some magic dust over us’ – we’ve got to stop believing in fairy tales,” he added. Two days later, after simply 16 video games in all competitions, he was gone.
Inside 24 hours, Mike Williamson had arrived at Stadium MK. The previous Newcastle defender had spent virtually four-and-a-half years at Gateshead, guiding them to the Nationwide League North title in 2021/22 and the FA Trophy remaining the next yr.
On the Gateshead Worldwide Stadium, he had constructed a fame for his enticing, possession-based type of play, which garnered reward from Toon boss Eddie Howe after a pre-season pleasant final summer season.
It was clear from that very first interview in Milton Keynes that successful was excessive on his record of priorities, as was kickstarting an “evolution”.
That appears to be taking form already. Eight wins from his first 12 video games have propelled MK Dons into the play-off locations – even so, he isn’t taking the credit score.
“This is a reflection on the boys and nothing more than that,” he says, chatting with Sky Sports activities after being named Sky Guess League Two Supervisor of the Month for December, when he oversaw 4 wins from 4.
“They are a great group to work with. They are really receptive, want to learn and grow and the results are a pure reflection of their performances.
“We’re very process-driven and we need to continue learning and growing. We consider the outcomes will come off the again of that, in addition to a greater understanding and interpretation of what we try to attain.”
The distinction in type – and thus fortunes – between Williamson and his predecessor is made clear by a more in-depth take a look at the numbers.
Underneath the brand new boss, they’ve conceded 34 fewer photographs from contained in the field, accomplished virtually 2,000 extra passes and at the moment are averaging 60 per cent possession, versus 48 per cent beforehand.
They’ve additionally stored twice as many clear sheets and are averaging virtually one level extra per recreation. All of that having performed one recreation fewer.
“I don’t think it’s largely down to my methods because you can see periods of the way we want to play and how to control games, but we’re still quite far away and I think the lads know that,” Williamson continues.
“They convey chemistry, they’re an unbelievably match group, a bodily sturdy group and we have many good footballers within the constructing. We’re making an attempt to do every part we will by maintaining requirements excessive to enhance the focus and understanding.
“We’ve all got to be on the same page because the way we play takes a lot of focus, attention and intensity, but it’s mentally fatiguing. Everyone’s looking for the utopian Man City, Liverpool, Brighton style of play and it’s easier said than done.
“The evolution is that the understanding retains getting cleaner and you may see the end result of what we’re making an attempt to do and never essentially simply the factors tally or the reflection of the outcomes.
“You can actually see the desire to play a certain way and we think the results and performances will improve off the back of that.”
That feeds into his total, people-centric philosophy, too.
“We want to play a certain way and that takes buy-in from everyone. Around the training ground and in my office, there’s no real hierarchy, there’s no egos.
“If somebody’s bought one thing to say throughout the membership and we predict it may add worth, I am open to listening.
“I’m very much about developing the person and if the person comes in and enjoys his time here, the player will improve as a by-product of that. I love the psychology of football and humans and our behaviour and it all starts with the person.”
MK Dons’ stand up the division has occurred so rapidly that it seems to have gone underneath the radar considerably. Not that Williamson is concerned.
“No – I don’t know where the radar is and I’m not too interested in the radar,” he says with a smile.
“We’ve got three games at home in a week coming up; three very, very big tests and difficult challenges for us. I know it sounds like a cliche, but I learned during my time at Gateshead that it’s more than a cliche.
“You have to hold your concentrate on the following recreation, so should you begin wanting on the type desk and ifs and buts, you’re taking your focus off what’s proper in entrance of you.”
For sure, ideas of the play-offs and promotion are removed from his thoughts.
“It’s probably not what people want to hear, but I’m not interested in the last game of the season – that will take care of itself.
“You come right into a soccer membership and convey completely different strategies and also you’re judged on the end result of it. That’s the place we’re measured, however our focus is on the method . I additionally know followers aren’t going to just accept dropping week in, week out once I’m speaking about bettering the method. It is truly bought to mirror within the outcomes.
“I’ve got to a point where I’ve started to really understand that every challenge is an opportunity and that pressure is a privilege. When we lose a game, it’s not all doom and gloom, it’s an opportunity to improve and I try and get the lads to understand that.
“We need to win – as human beings, we need to be the perfect – and for us it’s about how we go about that and the factors tally will deal with itself. The league desk won’t ever lie on the finish of it, so we’ll simply get our heads down and concentrate on what we will management.”
That mentioned, the long-term intention is evident. MK Dons had been within the Championship this time eight years in the past and reached the League One play-off semi-finals in 2021/22 – they’re itching to get again.
“If you speak to the chairman and directors here, they see this as a sustainable Championship club,” says Williamson.
“I’m not going to hide away from expectation or where we see ourselves, but my job right now is to prepare the best I can for Morecambe at home on Saturday.
“The stadium is incredible, the workers are unimaginable and genuinely good individuals are working behind the scenes and on the pitch. All goals are to attain that, however we will solely obtain that if we focus our consideration on Saturday.”
MK Dons have regarded for stability within the dugout ever since Karl Robinson left the membership in October 2016, with seven everlasting managers or head coaches having been and gone ever since.
In Mike Williamson, they could simply have discovered the right tonic.