Paul Warne rejects League Two club after Derby County sacking | OneFootball

Paul Warne has knocked back MK Dons interest in becoming their new manager.

MK Dons have suffered a setback in sourcing a replacement for Scott Lindsay, with Paul Warne rejecting their interest in him taking over the club.

Lindsay was sacked in early March, with MK Dons suffering a woeful start to 2025 that had seen them lose 11 of 16 League Two fixtures either side of the New Year.

They sit 19th in League Two currently, 10 points clear of the relegation zone but, disappointingly, 19 adrift of the top seven. Ben Gladwin is in interim charge of the club right now.

Paul Warne rejects MK Dons interest

Warne was sacked by Derby County on February 7th

According to Pete O'Rourke on X (formerly Twitter) Warne has rejected interest shown in him from MK Dons regarding their managerial vacancy.

It's not clear what level of approach was made to land the 51-year-old's service, but it has been rejected.

Warne was with Derby between 2022 and 2025, taking over the Rams after they had dropped into League One. He led them to just outside the play-offs during his early months in charge, before leading them to automatic promotion during the 2023/24 season.

However, he was sacked on February 7th after overseeing seven straight defeats in the Championship that has left Derby fighting relegation now under John Eustace.

Warne's promotion with Derby, though, was his fourth out of League One, having previously taken Rotherham United into the Championship on three occasions (2018, 2020, 2022).

Surely he targets League One role next

Warne is humble enough to know that he will have to take a step down the ladder following his struggle with Derby in the Championship; it's also been the case at Rotherham that he's not quite cracked the second-tier, hence having multiple opportunities to add to his League One promotions.

However, Warne is a promotion expert in League One and, at this stage of his career, a step-down into League Two just feels a level too low for the 51-year-old.

As the summer approaches, he will be an attractive option for many League One clubs looking to go in a different direction. Former club Rotherham are looking for a new permanent manager and, despite no concrete links, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him back there.

There's no rush for Warne to dive back into management, with the summer the prime time for him to take over somewhere really suiting him. MK's early approach makes sense, of course, with the League Two struggles surely aware of how in-demand Warne could be at a higher level before long.