Dean Lewington

Dean Lewington

Lewington in 2011
Personal information
Full name	Dean Scott Lewington [1]
Date of birth	(1984-05-18) 18 May 1984 (age 40) [2]
Place of birth	Kingston upon Thames, England
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) [3]
Position(s)	Left-back / Centre-back
Team information
Current team	Milton Keynes Dons
Number	3
Youth career
0000–2003	Wimbledon
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2003–2004	Wimbledon	29	(1)
2004–	Milton Keynes Dons	787	(21)
Managerial career
2021	Milton Keynes Dons (caretaker)
2022	Milton Keynes Dons (caretaker)
2024	Milton Keynes Dons (caretaker)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:00, 19 October 2024 (UTC)

Dean Scott Lewington (born 18 May 1984) is an English professional footballer and coach who plays as a left-back, as well as a centre-back for EFL League Two club Milton Keynes Dons, where he is club captain.

Lewington is Milton Keynes Dons' longest-serving player and, as of 26 December 2023 ^[update] , holds the record for the most career league appearances by any player for a single club in the history of the English Football League. On that date, Lewington achieved his 771st career League appearance against Colchester United, overtaking John Trollope who held the previous record of 770 appearances for Swindon Town. ^[4]

Club career

Wimbledon

Born in Kingston upon Thames, London, ^[2] Lewington made his Wimbledon first team debut on 5 April 2003, coming on as a last-minute substitute for Alex Tapp in a 4–2 First Division defeat to Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough, his only appearance of the season. ^[5]

On 1 November 2003, he made his first start, in a 2–1 win over Bradford City at the National Hockey Stadium, their first victory in Milton Keynes. ^[6] He scored his first goal on 26 December in a 3–0 win away to Reading at the Madejski Stadium, heading Adam Nowland's cross for the second of the game. ^[7] Lewington was sent off for violent conduct near the end of the team's 0–3 home defeat to Coventry City on 21 February 2004. ^[8] At the end of the season, Wimbledon were relegated. ^[9]

Milton Keynes Dons

Lewington takes a throw in against Barnsley in 2015

Having moved to Milton Keynes in 2003, Wimbledon were relaunched in 2004 as Milton Keynes Dons, in the newly renamed League One. Lewington almost moved to Huddersfield Town in 2005 in an exchange deal involving Pawel Abbott, however Abbott chose to stay at Huddersfield thus ending their interest. As of April 2023 ^[update] , Lewington is the only former Wimbledon player at Milton Keynes Dons. ^[10]

He received the MK Dons captaincy after the departure of Keith Andrews to Blackburn Rovers in August 2008. On 21 March 2011, Lewington led his team to a 1–0 victory over promotion rivals Peterborough United. The Dons reached the play-offs but were defeated by Peterborough. On 2 December 2012, Lewington captained his side against AFC Wimbledon in their highly publicised first meeting. On 12 January 2013, Lewington made his 400th league appearance for Milton Keynes Dons against Bury.

Lewington scored his only goal of the 2013–14 League One season in the last minute of a 3–2 victory over Stevenage at Broadhall Way. The 2–2 draw with Rotherham United at the New York Stadium on 26 April 2014 saw Lewington make his 500th appearance for Milton Keynes Dons in all competitions. To celebrate his 500th appearance for the club, supporters of Milton Keynes Dons got together for the last home game of the season against Leyton Orient, and wore as much orange as possible (due to Lewington's hair colour). This campaign was dubbed "Orange4Lewie" and gained some publicity from Twitter, Facebook and other social media.

On 3 May 2015, Lewington scored twice and assisted two further goals as the Dons defeated Yeovil Town 5–1 on the final day of the season to earn their first promotion to the Championship. ^[11] On 20 May 2014, Milton Keynes Dons announced a testimonial match against Nottingham Forest would be played in honour of Lewington's ten years of service for the club. The match was played on 27 July 2014 at stadium:mk although 4,121 attended the game, of whom 1,286 were from Nottingham Forest. ^[12] At the time of his testimonial, Lewington had amassed over 500 appearances in league and cup competitions for Milton Keynes Dons.

Between January and May 2018 Lewington temporarily worked in a player-coach role for the club under then manager Dan Micciche. ^[13] Lewington achieved his 600th league appearance and 700th appearance in all competitions for the club in January 2019 in consecutive games against Crewe Alexandra and Grimsby Town. ^{[14] [15]} During the 2018–19 season he played a key role in the club's automatic promotion from League Two, playing every league game during the campaign and achieving his third automatic promotion with the club. ^[16]

Lewington signed a further contract extension with the club in July 2020, at which point he was the longest-serving player for a single club in the Football League. ^[17] On 18 March 2021 – on the verge of his 800th appearance for the club – his contract was extended once again taking him into his 18th season with the MK Dons. ^[18] On 29 April 2021, Lewington's 800th appearance was recognised as the Moment of the Season at the 2021 EFL Awards. ^[19] He was named Milton Keynes Dons Player of the Year for the 2020–21 season on 7 May 2021. ^[20]

On 3 August 2021, just four days before the beginning of the 2021–22 season, MK Dons announced Lewington would take over as interim caretaker manager following the departure of Russell Martin, whilst the club sought a permanent replacement. ^[21] On 11 September 2021, Lewington made his 700th league appearance for the club in a 1–0 victory over Portsmouth. ^[22] On 3 May 2022, Dean Lewington signed a new contract until 2023, taking him into his 19th season with the club. ^[23]

Despite relegation in the 2022–23 season, Lewington extended his contract with the club and was included in the Dons' retained list on 20 May 2023. ^[24] On 26 December 2023, Lewington made his 771st league appearance for MK Dons, setting a new record for most career league appearances by a player for a single club in the history of the English Football League, a record previously held by Swindon Town's John Trollope since 1981. ^[4]

On 11 January 2024, in recognition of his record-breaking appearances and contribution to the club's perfect league record during the month prior, Lewington was named the EFL League Two Player of the Month for December 2023. ^[25]

On 16 May 2024, shortly before his 40th birthday, Lewington signed another contract extension lasting until 2025. ^{[26] [27]} On 20 August 2024, Lewington was awarded the PFA Merit Award for 2024 in honour of his services to football. ^[28]

On 19 September 2024, Lewington became caretaker head coach of the club for a third time following the departure of Mike Williamson to Carlisle United. ^[29]

Personal life

He is the son of former England assistant manager Ray Lewington, ^[7] and the cousin of fellow footballer Luke Ayling. ^[30] Lewington has two daughters: Willow (born 2017) ^[31] and Lottie (2020). ^[32]

Career statistics

As a player

As of 29 October 2024

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Wimbledon	2002–03 [33]	First Division	1	0	0	0	0	0	—		1	0
	2003–04 [34]	First Division	28	1	3	0	0	0	—		31	1
	Total		29	1	3	0	0	0	—		32	1
Milton Keynes Dons	2004–05 [35]	League One	43	2	3	0	1	0	1 [lower-alpha 1]	1	48	3
	2005–06 [36]	League One	44	1	3	0	1	0	3 [lower-alpha 1]	0	51	1
	2006–07 [37]	League Two	45	1	3	0	2	0	2 [lower-alpha 2]	0	52	1
	2007–08 [38]	League Two	45	0	1	0	1	0	6 [lower-alpha 1]	0	53	0
	2008–09 [39]	League One	40	2	1	0	2	0	3 [lower-alpha 3]	0	46	2
	2009–10 [40]	League One	42	1	3	0	0	0	5 [lower-alpha 1]	1	50	2
	2010–11 [41]	League One	42	3	2	0	3	0	3 [lower-alpha 4]	0	50	3
	2011–12 [42]	League One	46	3	3	0	3	1	3 [lower-alpha 5]	0	55	4
	2012–13 [43]	League One	38	1	7	0	2	0	0	0	47	1
	2013–14 [44]	League One	43	1	4	0	0	0	2 [lower-alpha 1]	0	49	1
	2014–15 [45]	League One	41	3	3	0	4	0	1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	49	3
	2015–16 [46]	Championship	46	1	2	0	2	0	—		50	1
	2016–17 [47]	League One	36	1	4	0	0	0	1 [lower-alpha 6]	0	41	1
	2017–18 [48]	League One	22	0	1	0	2	0	3 [lower-alpha 6]	0	28	0
	2018–19 [16]	League Two	46	1	1	0	1	0	1 [lower-alpha 6]	0	49	1
	2019–20 [49]	League One	33	0	1	0	2	0	3 [lower-alpha 6]	0	39	0
	2020–21 [50]	League One	43	0	3	0	1	0	3 [lower-alpha 6]	0	50	0
	2021–22 [51]	League One	44	0	1	0	0	0	2 [lower-alpha 7]	0	47	0
	2022–23 [52]	League One	26	0	1	0	0	0	1 [lower-alpha 6]	0	28	0
	2023–24 [53]	League Two	20	0	1	0	0	0	3 [lower-alpha 6]	0	24	0
	2024–25 [54]	League Two	3	0	0	0	1	0	2 [lower-alpha 6]	0	6	0
	Total		788	21	48	0	28	1	48	2	912	24
Career total			817	22	51	0	28	1	48	2	944	25

1. Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy
2. Appearances in 2006–07 Football League Two play-offs
3. Two appearances in 2008–09 Football League One play-offs and one appearance in Football League Trophy
4. Two appearances in 2010–11 Football League One play-offs and one appearance in Football League Trophy
5. Two appearances in 2011–12 Football League One play-offs and one appearance in Football League Trophy
6. Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy
7. Appearances in 2021–22 EFL League One play-offs

As a manager

As of 21 September 2024

Managerial record by team and tenure

Team	Nat	From	To	Record								Ref
				G	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Milton Keynes Dons (caretaker)		3 August 2021	13 August 2021	1	0	1	0	3	3	+0	000.00	[55]
Milton Keynes Dons (caretaker)		11 December 2022	23 December 2022	3	1	0	2	3	7	−4	033.33
Milton Keynes Dons (caretaker)		19 September 2024	Present	1	0	1	0	1	1	+0	000.00	[29]
Total				5	1	2	2	7	11	−4	020.00

Honours

Milton Keynes Dons

• Football League One second-place promotion: 2014–15 ^[56]
• Football / EFL League Two: 2007–08; ^[57] third-place promotion: 2018–19 ^[58]
• Football League Trophy: 2007–08 ^[59]

Individual

• PFA Team of the Year: 2007–08 League Two, ^[60] 2008–09 League One ^[61]
• Football League One Player of the Month: November 2008 ^[62]
• Milton Keynes Dons Player of the Decade ^[63]
• Milton Keynes Dons Player of the Year: 2020–21 ^[20]
• EFL Moment of the Season: 2021 ^[19]
• EFL League Two Player of the Month: December 2023 ^[25]
• PFA Merit Award: 2024 ^[28]

Records

• Most career league appearances for a single club in the history of the English Football League ^[4]

References

1. "Notification of shirt numbers: Milton Keynes" (PDF). English Football League. p. 43. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
2. "Dean Lewington". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 3 July 2018.
3. "Dean Lewington". Milton Keynes Dons F.C. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
4. "Milton Keynes Dons 1-0 Colchester United". BBC. 26 December 2023. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
5. "Sheffield Wed 4-2 Wimbledon". BBC Sport. 5 April 2003. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
6. "Wimbledon 2-1 Bradford". BBC Sport. 1 November 2003. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
7. "Reading 0-3 Wimbledon". BBC Sport. 26 December 2003. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
8. "Wimbledon 0-3 Coventry". 21 February 2004. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
9. "Wimbledon 1-0 Derby". BBC Sport. 9 May 2004. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
10. "Dean Lewington: MK Dons captain equals appearance record in win over Morecambe". BBC Sport. 23 December 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
11. "MK Dons 5-1 Yeovil". BBC Sport. 3 May 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
12. "MK Dons 1-0 Forest". Nottingham Forest F.C. 27 July 2014. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
13. "Dan Micciche: MK Dons appoint ex-England youth coach as new manager". BBC Sport. 23 January 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
14. "Skipper set for 600 milestone". Milton Keynes Dons. 19 January 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
15. "Malvin praises Mr. Consistent ahead of 700th MK Dons game". Milton Keynes Dons. 24 January 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
16. "Games played by Dean Lewington in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
17. "Dean Lewington: MK Dons captain signs new contract". BBC. 9 July 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
18. "Deano to remain a Don". Milton Keynes Dons. 18 March 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
19. "2021 EFL Awards winners announced". EFL. 29 April 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
20. "Lewington named Player of the Year!". Milton Keynes Dons. 7 May 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
21. "Dean Lewington: MK Dons captain to take interim charge of side". BBC. 3 August 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
22. "Milton Keynes Dons 1–0 Portsmouth". BBC Sport. 11 September 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
23. "Dean Lewington to remain a Don". mkdons.com. 3 May 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
24. "Retained list". mkdons.com. 20 May 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
25. "Sky Bet League Two Manager and Player of the Month for December". EFl.com. 12 January 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
26. "Dean Lewington extends record-breaking spell with MK Dons". mkdons.com. 16 May 2024. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
27. "Retained list". mkdons.com. 17 May 2024. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
28. "Dean Lewington - PFA Merit Award Winner". Professional Footballer's Association. 20 August 2024. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
29. "Mike Williamson departs MK Dons". Milton Keynes Dons. 19 September 2024. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
30. "Bamford celebration explained, Ayling's Hodgson meeting and Leeds United moments missed". Leeds Live. 9 April 2023. Retrieved 9 April 2023. ...Ray Lewington, Hodgson's long-time assistant and confidant, is Ayling's uncle.
31. "Dean the Dad – Family Fun Day exclusive". mkdons.com. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
32. "Lewington wanted to play despite birth of his daughter". miltonkeynes.co.uk. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
33. "Games played by Dean Lewington in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
34. "Games played by Dean Lewington in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
35. "Games played by Dean Lewington in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
36. "Games played by Dean Lewington in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
37. "Games played by Dean Lewington in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
38. "Games played by Dean Lewington in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
39. "Games played by Dean Lewington in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
40. "Games played by Dean Lewington in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
41. "Games played by Dean Lewington in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
42. "Games played by Dean Lewington in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
43. "Games played by Dean Lewington in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
44. "Games played by Dean Lewington in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
45. "Games played by Dean Lewington in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
46. "Games played by Dean Lewington in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
47. "Games played by Dean Lewington in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
48. "Games played by Dean Lewington in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
49. "Games played by Dean Lewington in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
50. "Games played by Dean Lewington in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
51. "Games played by Dean Lewington in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
52. "Games played by Dean Lewington in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
53. "Games played by Dean Lewington in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
54. "Games played by Dean Lewington in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
55. "Dons denied a Lewington win in stoppage time". Milton Keynes Citizen. 7 August 2021. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
56. Anderson, John, ed. (2015). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2015–2016. London: Headline Publishing Group. pp. 238–239. ISBN   978-1-4722-2416-3.
57. Rollin, Glenda; Rollin, Jack, eds. (2008). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2008–2009. London: Headline Publishing Group. pp. 45, 272–273. ISBN   978-0-7553-1820-9.
58. "League Two: 2018/19: Current table". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
    "MK Dons: Squad details: 2018/19". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
59. Mitchener, Mark (30 March 2008). "Grimsby 0–2 MK Dons". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
60. "Ronaldo named player of the year". BBC Sport. 27 April 2008. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
61. "Giggs earns prestigious PFA award". BBC Sport. 26 April 2009. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
62. "Lewington receives monthly award". 9 December 2008. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
63. "Ben bags four awards". Milton Keynes Dons F.C. 29 April 2014. Retrieved 5 September 2018.

External links

• Dean Lewington player stats at mkdons.com
• Dean Lewington at Soccerbase