Popular player full of confidence for next season.
MK Dons defender Joe Tomlinson is putting his team’s poor run this season behind him and says he is confident that the club will turn things around for the 2025/26 term.
The defender and midfielder, who has worn the captain’s armband on several occasions this year, acknowledged this week that the Dons’ performance this season has not been what everyone expected.
But, speaking days before the team’s final match of the campaign, at Swindon Town, he said changes that have already been made at Stadium MK – new manager Paul Warne arrived last month – and others in the planning pipeline, have given him a new confidence for the future.
“Even during the tough times this year, with the size of this club, the fans, everything about it… good times are coming,” the 24-year-old regular starter said.
“Obviously the owner’s come in and we’ve had a few changes with the staff and everything. It’s taken a bit longer than I thought but it is coming, good times are coming.
"I’m really confident going into next year. The manager is brilliant, I’m sure the recruitment team will be working hard in the off-season to make the team even better and there’s a lot of positives to go into next year.”
Joe arrived in Milton Keynes from Peterborough United in 2023 and has made himself a firm favourite with the fans, playing nearly 80 games for the club. He has settled in the city, has a house here and has recently become a father.
“I’ve been around a bit and it’s quite nice to settle down,” he said. “It’s just a fantastic club first of all. The fans are brilliant. I love it, I love everything about it.
Then you go a bit deeper, and you go location-wise. I’ve just had a little baby, so we love it around here, we have bought a house, and we’re settled. Off the pitch when things are going great you hope that on the pitch it does too, and that’s why I like to play so much.
“The fans, the club are brilliant. I felt coming here was a perfect fit – it’s been a tough year, but it has certainly felt that way for me, I’ve come in and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s a club that will always be close to me because of my time here. I’ve been able to play a lot of games and hopefully there will be many more.”
