Richie Barker revealed he had plenty of reasons to say 'yes' when MK Dons approached him with regards to taking on the head of coaching role on a permanent basis.
Barker, 38, was appointed as Karl Robinson’s assistant on Monday having spent the last month with the Football Club as an advisor to the Dons boss following the departure of Gary Waddock.
The former Football League striker told MK Dons Player that the decision to return to stadiummk for the forthcoming season was a ‘no-brainer’. He said: “(I enjoy) the atmosphere around the place, the attitude of the players and the ethic of the staff. It’s a very young staff but a very enthusiastic and energetic one.
“I like the way there’s a continuity of producing players, the way the game is played here and that they give people time and opportunities so it was a no brainer for me really.
Barker continued: “The chance of working with Karl, as well. He’s somebody who I’ve watched over the last couple of years and managed against. I thought we had similar views on things, certainly in terms of the way the game is played.
“I like the fact he has a plan and knows where (the Football Club) is going, he gives the young players an opportunity and he tries to do things for the long-term rather than just looking at the short-term.
“We have a lot of similarities but we have a lot of differences as well. On a day-to-day basis when we are working we are quite different but I think that’s part of the reason why it works.
“Away from the game, we are quite similar in that we are a similar sort of the age and we have the belief and the coaching qualifications. We’ve both studied the game and started from the bottom, we both started in youth football.”
with MK Dons Player here:Richie Barker’s interviewWATCH a snippet of
