Former Ipswich Town coach Liam Manning has been unveiled as the new boss of MK Dons.

Manning, who came through Town’s academy as a player before coaching youngsters at the club, succeeds Russell Martin at the League One club, having been appointed head coach.

He's joined at stadium:mk by another former Ipswich academy player and coach in the form of Chris Hogg, who leaves his role as Newcastle United's Under 23s boss to assist his former team-mate in League One.

Manning arrives following a successful spell with Belgian club SK Lommel, which saw him guide the club to a third-placed finish in the second tier, doubling both their number of wins and goals from the previous campaign.

He’s a coach with real pedigree, having worked with high profile players such as Declan Rice during his time working with West Ham’s Under 23s, before joining City Football Group and working with New York City FC and then Lommel.

“Firstly, it’s a privilege to be named Head Coach of MK Dons,” he said. “I am thankful to the chairman and Liam Sweeting for providing me with this exciting opportunity.

“CFG (City Football Group) were terrific for me and provided me a chance to go to New York and then to become head coach at Lommel - ultimately, though, this was too good of an opportunity for me.

“This is an ambitious football club that believes in playing a certain way - a way that the fans are used to and demand and one that I believe in too. We also have a squad full of quality and exciting players, who I can’t wait to get to work with.

“Me and my family are going to move here to live within half an hour of the area so that we can integrate ourselves into the community. That is important to me because, as we learnt last season, football is for the fans.”

He added: “I am delighted to be your head coach – I am looking forward to getting started.”

MK Dons chairman Pete Winkelman said of the appointment: “We are really excited to welcome Liam Manning to the Football Club. It has been a hectic couple of weeks but we are delighted to now be in a position to introduce him as our new Head Coach and be able to look forward to what the future can bring.

“We will give Liam and his coaching team all the support they need as they navigate their way through the frantic nature of EFL football and I am sure our supporters will do just the same, starting Saturday.”

Manning will be in charge of MK Dons when they take on Sunderland tomorrow, before bringing his side to Portman Road next weekend to take on Ipswich.