MK Dons Under-18s prepare to embark on the 2023/24 season journey with their upcoming opening game on the road against Luton Town.

Following the pre-season training programme, John Bitting’s boys can now hone their focus onto the upcoming league fixtures as the opening day of the 2023/24 campaign falls on Saturday 5 August.
 
These two teams met previously last year, which saw Luton take the spoils from both of the matches played. However, this year, the young Dons look for redemption as they seek to kick-start the new season with a positive result.
 
Saturday will provide supporters with a first opportunity to witness the new first-year Scholars, as well as the return of the now second-years.
 
When questioned about the opening day of the season, second-year Scholar Charlie Stirland had this to say “We’re really fired up for the start of the season, and we’re looking to get a result on Saturday.
 
“We really need to pass on our experiences and what we learned from last year, we need to get them involved and get them up to speed with what we do. Hopefully, that’ll help us have a really good season.” Stirland added whilst discussing the new sqaud.
 
Lead Player Development Pathway Head Coach John Bitting also shared his insight prior to the start of the 2023/24 campaign. When asked about the preparations of a new year, he said “It’s been a really good and interesting pre-season so far.
 
“We’ve had a real good variety of teams that the boys have been up against throughout our pre-season friendlies, on top of having the exposure for our second-year Scholars with the first team.
 
“All the lads who have been available to do so, have earned the opportunity to train and be involved with the first team in some capacity, which has been a brilliant experience for them.”
 
In comparison to the success achieved in the season prior, Bitting replied “Each year is different. We’ve got to look at this season on not what we accomplished last year, but what we can do to move forward and develop this year.
 
“This is a completely different group, and there’s a lot of work we need to continue to do with the second-years to keep on developing and pushing them. But it’s also the same with the first-years, it’s always at the forefront of our minds regarding what the next steps are for these players.”