Milton Keynes Dons head coach Paul Warne has called for the return of a formal reserve team football league. The boss believes such a structure is vital for maintaining squad fitness and offering competitive minutes to players outside the starting eleven, a need highlighted by the club's current situation.
Warne's comments were reported this week by the Milton Keynes Citizen. The Dons have begun the 2026/27 season with two draws from their opening two League One fixtures, leaving them 14th in the table with two points. They have scored three goals and conceded three, with a goal difference of zero, and sit four points behind early leaders Bradford City. Striker C. Paterson leads the scoring charts with 16 goals from 36 appearances.
Why does Paul Warne want a reserve league?
Paul Warne sees a clear gap in player development pathways. The sport moved away from traditional reserve leagues years ago, favouring academy and youth team games instead. But Warne argues that first-team players on the fringes, or those coming back from injury, need proper 90-minute matches with official referees to stay sharp. Training, he notes, is always stop-start and broken into sections, which doesn't replicate the flow of a real game.
"We’ve gone down a bit of a route of, not necessarily molly-coddling, but we don’t really want to ask players to play in a reserve game," Warne said. He believes a hat-trick scored in a reserve fixture carries far more weight than one in a training session. "Seeing a centre-forward scoring a hat-trick in training doesn’t have the same validity."
How are MK Dons managing fitness now?
With fewer midweek games early in the campaign, the Dons have had to arrange behind-closed-doors friendlies to give players much-needed match time. This need was amplified by several key players missing the start of the season. Captain Alex Gilbey, winger Sam Silvera, and forward Rushian Hepburn-Murphy all began the campaign with knocks.
While all three have now returned to training, they have been without competitive football. The club's academy has stepped in to organise games to help these professionals regain match sharpness. Warne is acutely aware of the disappointment players feel when left out of the matchday squad, and he sees a structured reserve league as a better solution than ad-hoc arrangements.
What does this mean for the squad's depth?
Implementing a reserve league would directly impact squad management and morale. It provides a clear avenue for players to prove their readiness for first-team selection. For a side like MK Dons, who are looking to climb from 14th place, having a fully fit and competitive squad is essential for navigating a long season.
You can track the fitness and availability of the entire group on our dedicated injuries page. Maintaining depth will be key as the fixture list gets busier, a schedule you can follow on our fixtures hub.
Where does the club go from here?
Warne's public advocacy is a push for systemic change, but in the short term, the Dons will continue to rely on internal solutions. The focus remains on integrating returning players like Gilbey, Silvera, and Hepburn-Murphy back into competitive action, whether through arranged games or league minutes. Their return bolsters options for Warne as he looks to convert draws into wins and improve upon the team's current league standing, which you can monitor on our standings page. The manager's point is clear: for player development and squad harmony, nothing beats a real game.
