Caretaker role came 'out of the blue' - Lewington

Dean Lewington has been with MK Dons ever since Wimbledon FC changed names in 2004

MK Dons caretaker boss Dean Lewington said he has not yet had time to fully consider whether he would like the job permanently.

The 40-year-old defender was put in charge for the third time when Mike Williamson left the club to take over at Carlisle United.

Lewington is fifth on the list of most appearances in the English Football League with 815 - but only played three games under Williamson this season.

"It's something I'm open to but I'll leave the process to take care of it all," he told BBC Three Counties Radio.

"It's come out of the blue really. I've not really thought that far ahead, there's so much to take care of. I'll worry about it, maybe, a bit further down the road."

He added: "It's down to [sporting director] Liam [Sweeting] to sift through the candidates and decide which way the club want to go in terms of what style of manager they want."

The club are looking for their fifth new boss since Russell Martin left Stadium MK in the summer of 2021.

Lewington was in charge for one game following his departure and two following the sacking of his successor Liam Manning, now in charge at Bristol City.

The Dons reached the League Two play-offs last season, but are currently 20th in the table with only six points from six games - and were beaten 3-0 by arch-rivals AFC Wimbledon last Saturday.

"We've underperformed, been a little bit lacklustre, just not clicking," Lewington said.

The left-back admitted the past few days had been unsettling as the rumour mill about Williamson's situation went into "overdrive" and then his exit was confirmed.

"Everyone enjoyed working with him and it's just a personal decision, I think.

"It's difficult because most of the players have been signed by Mike, it was a big [transfer] window, a lot of players came in under that manager, so it's always a bit of a daunting time when you've been brought in for a certain system, for a certain manager - you don't know who's going to come in [next] or what they'll want.

"Managers go, it's par for the course, and it's about being professional and trying to focus on games and training."

It will be the first time the club has changed managers since long-time owner Pete Winkelman announced the sale of the club to a Kuwait-based consortium .

Lewington said he would be keeping "all the communication lines open" in the current situation for players still fairly new to the club.

"If people want to talk, you're there for them, if they don't, they might pick someone else and that's all good, it's just about making sure everyone feels OK," he said.`

"As always the club comes first, you do what you can and hopefully you do OK."

Lewington's first game in charge will be at home to Doncaster Rovers on Saturday and he is approaching the role on a 'day-to-day' basis.

"Relegation always creates a little bit of uncertainty and this year with new owners it's kind of got a different feel about it again because of that," he said.

"The club is in a little bit of a fluid moment where you're not quite sure how it's going to look [in the future], it's inevitable there will be change but you can only control what you can control," he added.