Danny Wilson achieved 'mission impossible' to keep MK Dons in League One – and avoid a second successive relegation. Wilson, who arrived at the National Hockey Stadium in December last year with the Dons deep in relegation trouble, must have feared the worst with seven minutes remaining of their final fixture against Tranmere. The Dons, who needed to win to overhaul Torquay on goal difference, were locked at 1-1 until Gareth Edds unleashed a 25-yard screamer to ensure their safety.
It gives the Dons a bit more breathing space to rebuild, as their brand new stadium at Denbigh North takes shape, and Wilson can start afresh. While the Dons' survival will have been greeted with scorn in some quarters by people who are still upset by their franchise move from Wimbledon, there is no doubting it was a great achievement.
Wilson arrived at Milton Keynes in December to find a club on its knees after last year's relegation and struggling to hold its own at League One level. But he stopped the rot with a 3-0 win over Wrexham and - by a cat's whisker – achieved what chairman Pete Winkleman bought him to the club to do when he replaced Stuart Murdoch. But even Wilson admitted he thought it was all over until Edds' last-gasp strike.
"Tranmere had the upper hand and I couldn't see us scoring," he confessed. "But Gareth produced two super strikes and we have been written off so many times you can only silence critics by results – and now we've done it. Luck had deserted us in recent weeks but it was with us against Tranmere and it was a massive effort from all the boys.It is a fantastic feeling to stay up."
Their last-day dramatic victory came on the back of a 3-0 win over Peterborough, which kept their hopes alive and proved that Wilson's notoriously cool head paid dividends in a crisis. Yet while he was happy to celebrate survival, he insists he will be aiming for bigger and better things when next season kicks in to gear in August.
He continued: "As I said before the Tranmere game, it would be an achievement to stay up after the start to the season we had. But in reality it's not so good to finish fifth from bottom and we should never have been in this position.
"There were great scenes at the end of the game and I'm delighted for everyone. The lads have put a terrific effort and these boys should take big credit. The ecstasy of staying up is nowhere near as good as being promoted, and I honestly think we have potential for a much better season next time around. You only have to look at five of the games that we didn't win this season, which were draws. I can think of plenty and if it had gone our way then we'd have been mid-table at least.
"In that respect there is no big line between the play-off contenders and us. We showed that against Tranmere and have matched Sheffield Wednesday, Bournemouth and Hull City in recent weeks."
Wilson also paid tribute to the much-maligned small band of loyal Dons fans, who packed into the National Hockey Stadium to celebrate a wonderful afternoon. The supporters have had to endure vitriolic abuse since the club's inception but had the last laugh with the win against Tranmere. "A massive thank you goes out to the fans," he continued. "They have been a big credit to the club this season. It was very close in our final game and there were some hairy moments, but they didn't stop cheering us on.
"I always thought this season would go to the wire, but wasn't sure it would be right at the death of the last game. There is a fantastic spirit at this club from the players, staff and fans, and that has taken us through a lot of games this season. It was just a superb day for everyone."
