Graham Alexander: MK Dons must look forwards after relegation, says boss

Graham Alexander has won promotions as a manager with both Fleetwood and Salford

MK Dons boss Graham Alexander says he will not spend time worrying about what caused their relegation to League Two.

The Dons finished the 2022-23 season in 21st place, just one point from safety.

It led to the sacking of Mark Jackson after less than five months in charge, with former Motherwell boss Alexander chosen as his replacement.

"It's a fresh start. When we reconvene for pre-season, it's only about what's in front of us," the 51-year-old told BBC Three Counties Radio.

"It was a difficult position [for the club] while the season was ongoing, I don't think it's a difficult position now because we're all starting on zero points.

"It's about what we're going to do over the next 10 months not what's happened in the past."

MK Dons' relegation came just 12 months after they reached the play-offs under Liam Manning - now in charge at Oxford United - before losing to Wycombe.

And they have already made their first move towards revamping the squad for life in League Two by agreeing to re-sign midfielder Alex Gilbey, whose contract at Charlton expires at the end of the month.

"To have a little period for planning and preparing is quite beneficial, I feel," said Alexander.

"We want to make the right decisions about what to do with the squad and if you haven't got the pressure of upcoming games to focus on, it gives you a bit of time to make the right decisions. I'm going to use this time because it's valuable time."

Alexander spent 18 months in Scotland, before leaving Motherwell last summer, following previous spells in charge at Fleetwood, Scunthorpe and Salford.

"If you're climbing a mountain, you have to take the first step, and the first step is winning the first game," he said.

"We know what our long-term ambition is but you've got to set short-term targets, to be able to hit and measure that progression."

'Exhausting' process

Dons chairman Pete Winkelman has said he "blew it" in his efforts to keep them in League One

Last summer, chairman Pete Winkelman said promotion back to the Championship was key to raising the club's profile and establishing a larger fan base at Stadium MK.

Now they have to start again in the bottom tier of the English Football League and he believes Alexander's experience can help secure an early return to League One.

The former Scotland international made 833 league appearances during his playing career - third behind only Peter Shilton and Tony Ford.

"How many people have played more games than [Dons captain] Dean Lewington - that's one incredible fact [about him]," said Winkelman.

"His assistant Chris [Lucketti], that's another 600-odd games there, and they've managed over 400 games together as a management team, with a really good win record if you look at it."

Winkelman said the process of choosing a new head coach had been "exhausting".

He added: "We met a lot of people. They'd all won things, they wouldn't have got the interview if they hadn't. Any one of them could have done the job, we interviewed some great people.

"But because it was a process, and because it involved more people than just me, it wasn't just an opinion, an instinct at the time, it was much more scientific than that - and you end up with the person that won the process, and it was Graham.

"It was quite cathartic because everybody told me all the things they felt were wrong with the club and what was wrong with what we'd done, all these objective third-party views.

"It's definitely the start of a new chapter - I'm starting to remember last season a little less. But I still wake up every morning and think 'what have I done?' And I'm still hugely frustrated and apologetic about it, because it shouldn't have happened."