New MK Dons manager Paul Ince admits his sensational return to Milton Keynes has left him with a buzz in his stomach.

And the former England captain, who resumes his duties as boss just a year after his departure for the Premier League with Blackburn Rovers, says he can't wait to get back to work with his squad.

Ince finalised the details on a two-year contract at stadiummk on Friday night, as Dons Chairman Pete Winkelman acted swiftly to replace West Brom-bound Roberto Di Matteo.

In doing so, Pete brings back the most successful manager in MK Dons' brief history - Ince having secured the League 2 title and the Johnstone's Paint Trophy during the 2007/08 season.

And the 41-year-old former Manchester United and Inter Milan midfielder says he couldn't be happier to be back in the New City.

Speaking exclusively to mkdons.com, Ince said: "I'm absolutely delighted. I didn't see it happening, I didn't see Di Matteo going to West Brom, in fact I think I was on the golf course when someone phoned me to tell me it had happened.

"I knew straight away that people would be texting me and asking whether I was going back to Milton Keynes, but it wasn't until I spoke to the Chairman that anything happened.

"We had a good meeting, a good chat and it seemed to me to be the right thing to do. I always had a great rapport with the fans in Milton Keynes, the players when I was there, and nobody more so than the Chairman.

The mutual respect between Ince and Chairman Pete Winkelman was key to his appointment.

"I know how ambitious the Chairman is and he knows how ambitious I am so I'm looking forward to getting down to work. I've got a nice little buzz in my stomach."

Ince's swift appointment will come as a huge boost to the Dons squad, currently away at the pre-season training camp in Portugal.

It's a squad the former Macclesfield boss should know well, with eight of the current group having played in Ince's Double-winning side, while Peter Leven was Ince's last signing despite the Scot never actually playing under him.

And ahead of flying out next week to join up with the squad, currently under the guidance of the Club's core backroom staff and sports science team, Ince says he's looking forward to seeing faces new and familiar.

He said: "There'll be some new faces for me, which is exciting, but there will also be some old faces who will know my demands and how I work, which is always easier than having a team full of new players. In a way, going back to a team that is almost mine makes my job a bit easier.

Ince celebrates with Sean O'Hanlon - one of the players he'll work with again at stadiummk.

"There are certain players I'm really looking forward to working with such as Peter Leven, who was a fantastic player with Chesterfield but unfortunately it didn't work out that I would work with him."

A year after his departure following the League 2 triumph, Ince will effectively pick up where he left off with the Dons in League 1.

And having studied the team's progress right up to their Play-off defeat to Scunthorpe last season, the new boss has been impressed with how the side adapted to their new surroundings, even if old rivals Peterborough did go one better.

But with some big guns dropping out of the Championship and several ambitious clubs spending vast sums of cash, Ince says there can be no guarantees about the division next term.

He said: "Looking at last year's performance, the team did ever so well and I was devastated that they didn't win promotion. Obviously Peterborough got there before us, which made it even worse, though Darren Ferguson is a good friend of mine and I was actually very pleased for him.

Ince's immediate silverware delivery made him the most successful manager in MK Dons history.

"The team has proved that they can cope comfortably in League 1 so it's a case of actually trying to improve on last season.

"It won't be easy because it's a harder league this year with Norwich, Southampton and Charlton coming down, Leeds are a massive club, Millwall and Brighton are spending a lot of money so we've got to be careful with expectation.

"Hopefully we want to get out straight away, but it might take some time.

"Having said that, we'll be giving it a go and trying our hardest to do it this year."

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