MK Dons have appointed Dean Thornton as the Club’s First-Team Goalkeeper Coach.
Thornton moves to Stadium MK following a spell as the goalkeeper coach for the Taiwan national team.
He joins Russell Martin’s first-team coaching team ahead of Saturday’s Emirates FA Cup tie with Port Vale.
“I’m delighted to be here,” Thornton told mkdons.com. “I’m very excited. I know where the Club can be, and probably should be, and now it’s about hitting those targets that the Chairman has set us.
“I met Russell when I was 16 playing at Wycombe Wanderers and we’ve stayed in touch ever since. We’d spoken for years about working together when Russell became a manager and I promised I’d be there to help him when he did get a chance.
“I’ll be overseeing the goalkeepers. I know of Lee Nicholls, I’ve worked with Stuart Moore at Swindon Town and I’ve seen a lot of Laurie Walker over the years too. I met and worked with the group on Friday and I was very impressed.”
Thornton, who spent time as a young player with Queens Park Rangers and Wycombe Wanderers, was Head of Academy Goalkeeping at QPR for nine years before being appointed first-team goalkeeper coach with Swindon Town in August 2016.
He spent two seasons with the Robins before taking up a role as goalkeeper coach for the Taiwan National Team at the start of the 2018/19 season.
Manager Martin said of the appointment: “Deano is someone I’ve known for a long time, ever since we played together at Wycombe Wanderers.
“He’s a very good coach and he’ll be good about the place too, which is just as important. Stuart Moore has worked with him before and spoke really highly of him.
“He’s got great pedigree in terms of his coaching, having spent time with QPR and Swindon Town. He has loads of experience and he will be a really good addition to the Club.”
