MK Dons sign Jimmy Bullard on short-term contract

MK Dons have signed midfielder Jimmy Bullard on a short-term contract until the end of the year.

The 33-year-old was a free agent after being released by Championship club Ipswich earlier this month.

"I need to be out there on the park on a Saturday afternoon, not sitting in the stands," he said following his departure from Portman Road.

Bullard's arrival three days before the transfer deadline will add depth to Dons manager Karl Robinson's squad.

After spells with Peterborough and Wigan, Bullard joined Fulham for £2.5m in 2006, a fee that was doubled when he moved on to Hull City three years later.

Things did not work out for him on Humberside, in part due to knee problems, and he joined Ipswich on loan during the 2010-11 season before making the move permanent last summer.

However, Bullard only started 12 games for Ipswich last season and when it was made clear he was not part of boss Paul Jewell's plans for the new campaign, the two sides agreed that he could leave the side to look for a new club.

MK Dons have now signed five players since the end of last season with Bullard joining Jon Otsemobor, Alan Smith, Antony Kay and Ryan Lowe in the squad.