On Monday night, MK Dons held their first virtual Fans Forum of the season as Russell Martin, Andrew Cullen and Richard Keogh took questions from the Cowshed Season Ticket Holders.
The Club will be holding fan forums for each area of the Stadium over the coming weeks, with details of the next event to be confirmed shortly.
Each evening will be hosted over Zoom, with Russell Martin, Andrew Cullen, and a First-Team Player in attendance.
Here are the topics that were discussed last night…
On having a 'Plan B'...
If you’re having to go to plan B then you’ve not worked hard enough on Plan A. It’s a work in progress, we will convert that work and dominance into wins. The players buy into it, I’m so excited for the future of this football club. Whenever you change the process there is that messy middle. If people want me to sign a 7ft striker and crash it into him – it won't happen - we will get better at being us and continue
On goals from the strikers...
Signing Cameron Jerome certainly helps - we've all seen just how good he is. Having a fit Joe Mason and Stephen Walker also helps. I want us to take more risks when we get to the opposition box, it’s something we need to work on and the guys need to show composure as we do in our own penalty box. When we do that and when it comes together it’ll be great. We will continue to work with the lads and help them on being more composed in the final third.
On the Summer Transfer Window...
We’re never happy as we always want more. It was a brilliant window, the money we earnt on the players going out is a testament to the work we've done at the end of last season. I was really happy with the window, do I think we're better – yeah we are miles better. That was at a reduced cost to the football club too. All of the moving parts, Andrew [Cullen]. Liam [Sweeting] and the Chairman – they were all brilliant. They supported us through a tough time with some fantastic signings. It was a fantastic window and we are miles stronger and much more sustainable.
On the January Transfer Window...
We will look to strengthen, we’ll be doing diligence to see who is available in the January window. The wage cap makes things very hard and the landscape for next Summer will be very different. It’s changing the landscape for how clubs operate, and it’s an exciting market to operate in. Are we looking to do something in January? Yes, we always look to strengthen.
On iFollow...
It’s one of those areas where we gain regular feedback from how many passes we sell each week. On average, 1,500 streams are sold for home games and on Saturday there were 649 people who tuned into the Sunderland game. That was very encouraging they were rewarded with the win. We usually sell around 300 casual iFollow passes for home games. To put it into context, it’s helpful, but it’s about 30% of our usual gate receipts. We have to speak to the away club and agree on a figure. the away club keep that away attendance, anything over that we will then keep. We are mindful of the discussions between the EFL and the Premier League – there has been a step forward.
Richard Keogh on life at MK Dons...
I’ve loved it here, when I spoke with the Gaffer, he showed me his presentation he showed me how he saw the club moving. - you come to the stadium and it’s fantastic. I focused on my rehab and I'm delighted to be here, now I want to give back to Russ for his faith and help the group. I’m used to his style and been loving every second. We’re on the right track the momentum is building and I’m really excited. I think the guys are lucky with the coaches they’ve got here. Luke and Deano are amazing coaches, they are fantastic. Their training methods for finding solutions are unbelievable. I’ve learnt so much from being here and I’m enjoying learning from these guys - we get so much clarity and information
On the use of Academy Players...
It’s something we have to do and it’s important that we promote players who understand the club and get the club - they've already got a connection with the fans because of that! It’s important to us and what we are doing, the style of play we are trying to implement, it’s a really good way to develop your football club. We will continue to do that, we have a lot of academy players train with us every single day. They have to be at a certain level to train with the first team and once they are there they have to maintain that level and show a desire to learn.
On Hull preparations...
We’ll prepare as we usually do, before every game the players get some key points that will help our performance and that will be no different. The guys will know the team early so we can get the work into them. If any players needed convincing we can compete with everyone – Saturday proved that. We look forward to it, it’s a tough game, but we’ll go into it looking to build on our run.
On Russell's dream signing...
Messi of course. It’s a no brainer, isn’t it?
On missing the fans...
We cant wait to have you back, I wish you could experience it with no fans because it’s not good at all. Thank you for your patience and belief and the connection with the team. Your support really matters to the squad, I know you still do it and any little bit of support we are hugely grateful for. We want to repay all of you, we want to improve and keep the connection strong to make sure we can push on.
Richard Keogh on the fans...
It’s not the same without you guys. You’re a massive part of the club and you really help us as players when we need you. I can’t wait to play in front of you at Stadium MK – it’ll be a great moment when you can get back in. I can’t wait to hear you cheer us on and a massive thank you for your support.
