Milton Keynes Dons is delighted to introduce Dan Micciche as the head of the Football Club’s new management team.
Micciche, 38, has been appointed First-Team Manager and is joined by the experienced Keith Millen as Assistant Manager while Dean Lewington steps up to become a player-coach.
Micciche, the Club’s former Head of Academy Coaching, returns to the Dons having recently spent time with The FA as a Coach and Development Technical Lead as well as the Manager of the England Under-16s side.
He has been widely credited for his work with the England youth sides, who enjoyed a terrific summer in 2017, winning two World Cups and a European Championship. He has worked with some of the country’s elite young players, notably Ryan Sessegnon, Jadon Sancho and Phil Foden.
During his first spell at Stadium MK, Micciche also played a key role in the development of Milton Keynes players such as Dele Alli, Brendan Galloway, Seyi Ojo and Kevin Danso.
Millen, 51, brings with him a wealth of experience, having made over 500 appearances as a player before managing Bristol City and working as an Assistant Manager with Tony Pulis, Neil Warnock and Alan Pardew in the Premier League at Crystal Palace.
Lewington, as someone who typifies what Milton Keynes Dons is all about, will take on additional responsibilities in a newly-introduced role of player-coach.
Pete Winkelman said: “Given the serious situation we currently find ourselves in, we carefully considered all the different options available to us and, in the end, selected Dan Micciche - someone who has already played a part in shaping the core values of Football Club; is one of the most exciting young coaches in the country; and shares our belief that Milton Keynes Dons can, one day, become a Premier League football club.
“Dan is a man with a plan and part of that plan is the introduction of Keith Millen into the management team, bringing to the Club a wealth of experience as a player, coach and manager, having worked at the very highest level with some of the best English managers in the game. He has also picked up important knowledge of Sky Bet League One following his recent work at Portsmouth.
“Finally, I’m really pleased to welcome back club captain and legend Dean Lewington, who will take on a newly-introduced role of player-coach. Dean’s commitment, experience and genuine passion for the Football Club will be invaluable to us as we look to turn our fortunes around and get back heading in the right direction.”
Dan Micciche said: “I’m so proud to be named manager of MK Dons. This Club has done so much for me and we had such good success together during my first spell. Milton Keynes is also my home – I’m living in the area and my kids have been brought up here too.
“It’s been a whirlwind 24 hours but we’ve got a lot of work to do now. I understand the position we are in – it is not the position we want to be in – so first and foremost, our priority is to make sure we bring some confidence and belief back to this squad so we can begin climbing that league table.
“As a team, we want to entertain and we want to be an attacking, creative and expressive football team. We also want to be tactically disciplined and be clinical in both boxes. We’ve got good footballers here and it’s our job to bring that talent out over the coming weeks.”
Keith Millen said: “I came here with high hopes and they’ve certainly been met so I’m very much looking forward to working here.
“Having spoken to the Chairman, his enthusiasm for football just rubbed off on me. Speaking to Dan, I liked what he had to say – he has a clear philosophy on how he wants to play football but he’s also open to my ideas as well, so I’m sure we’ll work well together.
“I have experience at different levels. Working in the Premier League was an honour and I’ve taken things from that experience and the managers I worked with there. This year, I’ve been working around Sky Bet League One with Portsmouth so I know the division and the opponents we’ll be facing. Hopefully all that can be a big help for us.”
Dean Lewington said: “I’m happy to be back. I’m excited to be part of the new venture and as a player-coach, I’ll be look to help where I can.
“Dan is a proper MK Dons man and he knows what the Club is all about. He’ll have his own ideas so it won’t be a carbon copy of what we’ve seen before but I’m excited to help us play exciting football – playing in the opposition’s half and scoring some goals.
“First and foremost, though, we need to get ourselves out of the position we find ourselves in so it is all hands on deck. There is a lot of good players in the squad and if we can get ourselves going then we can definitely do something.”
