The decision was announced last night [Wednesday], via a statement on the club's web site. Danny Wilson replaced Stuart Murdoch in 2004, and steered the Dons to safety on the final day last season with that memorable win over Tranmere. But the Dons suffered relegation on the final day of this campaign, as they drew 0-0 at Rotherham. Their end of season form was good - with four wins and a draw from their last five games, but it came too late, and many were left wondering why a side which could suddenly put such a run together had languished at the bottom of the league for much of the season. BBC Three Counties Radio Presenter Martyn Coote spoke to MK Dons Chairman Pete Winkelman. Was the departure of Danny Wilson amicable? Yes it was. The Club has been conducting a 'post mortem' over the last few days. I think Danny achieved a lot during his time with us, but of course when you find yourself going down you really look at what the plans are going to be for next year, and I think what we want to do now is to try and put our best foot forward. We are now in a league where everything can start again and we have to build a new future for the club - and that's absolutely what we're about. You were only relegated on Saturday. Was the decision to sack Danny made before the end of the season? No it wasn't. Over the last couple of months, myself, the fans, everybody realised that we were in deep trouble, but of course our hearts kept going all the way up until Saturday. You never want to think of the bad things too much in case you tempt fate. We've now had lengthy chats and it's now really about what can the commitment be? What can the future be? We need to have everybody around the Club to work with us and to get the Club very Milton Keynes centric. You only appointed Danny Wilson two years ago - couldn't he have been given more time to build the team?
 |
| Pete Winkelman |
When you have a manager with the experience of Danny, and he does have a wealth of experience he's a very, very knowledgeable football man, you always hope that things can go on for a long period of time and give you that period of stability. But at the same time you need those commitments, you need people to be in Milton Keynes, you need people to be 24/7 thinking about what's going to be happening with the Club, looking at trying to change not only things in training sessions but lots of things around the way the first team work and you need to get an indication of how much their heart is really into that. It's been an amicable discussion, it's not nice when things finish, it's certainly not the best thing for either Danny or the Club in many ways, but you have to draw a line and you have to say we have been relegated, there are responsibilities to take, there are mistakes that have been made and we do have to find some change and if your incumbent people aren't willing to go along with that then obviously you have to bring in new people to make sure that direction can be maintained. It's been a traumatic couple of years for football in Milton Keynes, but now we're doing all the things the big clubs do, talking about which players will be staying, which players will be going, managers coming in and out - this is real professional football based in Milton Keynes. So are you questioning Danny Wilson's commitment to the Club? I'm not questioning his commitment to the football or to what he does, but different people have different ways of doing things. What I've learnt in recent months is just what kind of manager we want in terms of the kind of effort they want to put into the Club and the community here in Milton Keynes. I think those are the issues we don't want to duck; they are some of the most important things that I've been talking to Danny about. It's about a lifestyle centred around Milton Keynes and I think that's the way we need to go forward in the future. How urgent is the appointment of a new manager? What qualities are you looking for? We've made an early decision. I've tried to be decisive at the end of the season. It is the closed season now and we've got a few weeks to take stock. As I've said, I'm looking for someone to come to Milton Keynes and actually base themselves in Milton Keynes and put themselves at the forefront of the Football Club. There are some names in the frame and we will be meeting with people shortly. The more time you spend in football the more knowledge you gain about what kind of traits you see and it's not just about wealth of knowledge and football experience, it's really about the whole package - it's about the motivation, the intent and having the ambition to deliver success for Milton Keynes. Will you be able to keep most of the players from this season, or will you find that they'll want to leave?
| "I'm accepting full responsibility and I'm going to do something about it" |
| Pete Winkelman |
Most of our players are under contract and the Club will be in a position soon to make informed decisions as to what should happen next. There are several players whose contracts are coming up and we are in discussions with those players. I have Danny's view on what he felt should be happening, I've got a lot of good footballing advice and a team which won't take being relegated lying down. They are very proud people and I don't think anybody at the Club expected us to end up this way - certainly not when you look back at the hope and expectation we had this time last year. But this is football; the ups and downs are things we're going to have to learn to live with, I'm accepting full responsibility and I'm going to do something about it. Would you consider a player/manager? Anything's possible. My own personal view is that I think the job of a manager is a very very big one. It would have to be an extraordinary player that could do both of those roles. You're not just motivating a team it's about the analysis of the game that's gone before, it's about preparation for the game that's coming up next and it's about keeping that balance in your team because in a squad of twenty players you're only ever going to have eleven starting and it's about the way you balance keeping all the players in your squad happy, motivated and able to move things forward. So I think it's a big call for somebody to take on the job of player/manager, but having said that, with the right caliber of person, you can never rule anything out. There are rumours that Sir Clive Woodward has been seen in Milton Keynes?
 |
| Sir Clive Woodward at St Mary's |
(Laughs) That's caught me on a low ball swerve! To be honest, I have seen Sir Clive, but it's got nothing to do with the Managers position. He took his UEFA Training Badge here in Milton Keynes and I had the pleasure of taking him around the stadium and showing him just what we are up to. What about Gazza - he's been seen at the National Hockey Stadium? The Kettering Town Chairman hired Paul Gascoigne, which I think was a very brave decision to make. A decision that, had it worked, every Chairman in football would been looking at and thinking "What a fantastic move". But it's about getting people at the right moment and at the right time and maybe for Paul that's not right now. It's just as likely to be a name that isn't so obvious that eventually takes the helm here. I've seen people in our Division, like Steve Tilson and Phil Parkinson at Southend and Colchester - young managers who are very committed to their Clubs, doing their Pro Licences, they've done fantastically well. Perhaps the coach of the year is in our region - Adrian Boothroyd. As I'm sure all the Watford supporters are already well aware! A year ago, who was Adrian Boothroyd? But here's a man who has taken on the high pressure games, the sports science and who is very very focused and passionate about the game. These are the traits that we are looking for. Sometimes it's about names, sometime it's about reputations but I think what I'm most focused on is what people can bring to the future our football club. We have to draw a line in the sand now. We are Milton Keynes Dons, we are building a beautiful new stadium and now we need a big, bold and beautiful football team that can get the people of Milton Keynes to want to come and watch. Winkelman added: "I'd like to thank Danny for all his efforts during his time with Milton Keynes Dons and wish him all the very best in his future career." |
