MK Dons manager Graham Alexander sacked just days after his ruthless rant with opponents Barrow scoring twice in stoppage time.
The 52 year old, who came in as successor to Mark Jackson following the club’s relegation to the fourth tier, leaves after just five months in charge.
MK Dons currently sit 16th in the League Two table, with 16 points taken from 13 games played, six points above the drop zone and six from the playoff places.
MK Dons has parted company with Head Coach Graham Alexander.
Assistant Head Coach Chris Lucketti will also depart Stadium MK.
— Milton Keynes Dons (@MKDonsFC) October 16, 2023
CLUB STATEMENT:
Milton Keynes Dons Football Club has parted company with Head Coach Graham Alexander.
Assistant Head Coach Chris Lucketti will also depart Stadium MK.
The Club would like to thank Graham and Chris for their dedication and tireless efforts during their time at Stadium MK.
They depart with the best wishes of everyone at MK Dons.
“We have unbelievable ways of shooting ourselves in the foot,” said Alexander, as per Lancashire Post. “It’s a blind panic at 2-1. Blind panic. You have to see it through… you have to see it through. And it’s not the first time it’s happened.
“It happened in pre-season: one punch and then another one. We can’t even put the shutters up after one goal, see out a little period.
“My God. I don’t know what to say. If it was out of character, or I didn’t see it coming… but I can’t lie. After the first one, a part of me could see it coming.
“It has been a problem for a while and we haven’t eradicated it. We’ve been speaking recently about how we need to get in the lead.
“Well we had the lead; we were 2-0 up in the 90th minute. It’s our daily actions, courage, everything we do. It’s not luck, we can’t hope for luck to change or hope someone sprinkles magic dust over us.
“We have to stop believing in fairy tales. It’s about what we do every day and doing it in a game. We told them not to give Barrow any encouragement.
“My God, we played straight out from the back and kicked it straight out of play. We gave it to the opposition.
“This isn’t a bunch of kids who haven’t played before. Surely we know how to see these things out. You weather that and we enter the part where it should be game done. We had opportunities to see the game out.
“We’re not making good decisions. We’ve dominated games and not won when we’ve not been clinical at one end – giving some ridiculous goals away.”
MK Dons striker Max Dean said, as per Citi Blog:
“It’s tough to put into words. 2-0, cruising, then again just not seeing games through. That will happen in this league where teams punish you if you’re not doing things right. It’s tough at the minute.
“It’s definitely two points dropped but we can’t keep saying two points dropped, losing here, losing there. You have to see games through and maybe we haven’t been in that situation for a few matches, but that’s no excuse. You can’t be 2-0 up going into the 85th minute and that happens, never in any level of football.
“The gaffer set out the game plan. His game plan hasn’t changed – it’s us on the pitch and it’s on us. If we come away 2-0, everyone’s made up with everyone. This is on us.
“I think when I look back on it, tomorrow and on Monday, I might be a little bit happier with it than I am now. At the end of the day, it’s about winning. I could’ve missed ten chances but if we’d 1-0, I’d be happier than what I am now. First two goals of the season, I can take that away from it.
“They all sting the same I think. If you don’t win a game but get a decent point in their case, you’d be happy, but we haven’t had any of them. It won’t sting any more than the losses and the draws we’ve had recently.”
Here’s how fans reacted with the MK Dons manager Graham Alexander sacked after his ruthless rant with Barrow scoring twice in stoppage time…
@idontcareicba: dean lewington’s mk army
@Calstagram123: It feels harsh but I think it’s the right move for the club. I think he had more to offer
@michaelbattt: Should have been a positive appointment. But turnt into a negative, better to get the change done early and push on from now.
@RioscottMkD3: Hallelujah
@G72Jonny: Feel for the guy tbh. He came across well and was obviously a nice guy. But the football and results were unsustainable. Wish him the best. If ever there waw a critical managerial appointment for the club, it’s now
@matthew2215: Right choice sadly
@lucasswales180: thank fuck
@Alamb1996: Robbo or nothing 😂
@dicko1886: 3 Head Coaches in 10 months…let’s hope the 4th fairs better!! #mkdons
@_daisycroker: This is getting absolutely ridiculous now. Can’t afford to keep sacking managers every time it goes wrong. Someone up the top needs to see that’s something is going wrong and change it urgently! Every single season at the moment. Sort it out Dons!!!
@KieronDay03: Next appointment needs to be spot on, no more changes in the head coach position, need some stability
@DippyDon_95: I cannot wait for the inevitable nostalgia appointment to flop too, then where will we be
@christ12mk: Endless cycle of sack and hire. Martin, Manning, Jackson, now Alexander, when do we get it right? Really need to sort it out now
@Lauren_Sadlerx: Absolute dinosaur. Some of the worst football I’ve ever watched. See ya 👋🏻
@shaunmulhern95: Some of the worst football I’ve seen at MK under Graham Alexander. Robbo is not the long term answer. Worries me that’s 3 managers in 12 months, players brought in under different reigns and you can tell the team is disjointed. Good luck to Alexander #MKDons
@mkdonsAntony: Do it think it was right decision? On the balance of things yes. He lost the fans and the players looked lost sometimes too. Football was not good enough. It was hard to watch sometimes .
@MK1Podcast: A change that felt inevitable following the weekend’s events. Will the departure of Graham Alexander solve issues on the pitch? Or are the issues in MK1 much wider than what’s being served on the pitch? The gents will be back later this week to discuss what’s next for #mkdons
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