MK Dons are pleased to announce the appointment of formal defender, Carl Magnay as First Team Coach, joining Mike Williamson and his staff at Stadium MK.
The 35-year-old joins Ian Watson, Chris Bell and Erbil Bozkurt as part of Mike Williamson's staff, having previously worked as First Team Coach at Gateshead.
While in West London the defender would enjoy his first loan spell away from Stamford Bridge at Stadium MK, playing for Roberto Di Matteo's MK Dons side in 2009.
Magnay would spend five years at Chelsea, enjoying another loan with Northampton, before spells at Gateshead, Grimsby Town, Hartlepool and Spennymoor.
The defender eventually returned to Gateshead, taking up the position of First Team Coach in 2023 after an ACL ended his playing career. Magnay spent much of last season working with Gateshead boss Rob Elliot, overseeing more than 30 games as his assistant.
On continuing his coaching career at Stadium MK, Magnay said, "I'm delighted to be back and really looking forward to the challenge. It's a fantastic opportunity for me after finishing playing in October. With Mike and Ian leaving Gateshead I stepped in to the First Team Coach role there and worked with a great group of lads. It was a great learning curve and I really grew into confidence in the role."
In regards to working with some familiar faces at MK Dons, Magnay said, "I'm working with people that I know really well and that's that's hugely important, to have an environment that you're happy working in. Me, Mike and Ian are very much aligned along with Chris so we're really looking forward to getting started and putting all of our attributes and minds together to get the best out of the team."
Regarding his aims for the season, Magnay said, "Well it obviously has to be promotion from a team perspective, I don't think there's any doubt with the quality we have in the building! And as a young coach obviously just to keep progressing, I really want to develop some strong relationships with the players, my style of coaching is really to get on a human level with each individual."
On adding Magnay to the coaching setup, MK Dons Head Coach Mike Williamson said, "Carl is first and foremost a great human being and someone we're all really looking forward to working with. As a staff, we know him well from our time at Gateshead and feel he can add another dimension to our coaching this season. I'm really pleased to have him with us and excited to see what he can achieve with our players.
