MK Dons 1-4 Brentford: Karl Robinson and Dean Smith reaction
Saturday 23 April 2016 20:57, UK
Karl Robinson is keen to stay on as MK Dons manager after the 4-1 defeat against Brentford confirmed their relegation to League One.
MK Dons went into the game on Saturday knowing they had to win all three of their remaining fixtures to stand any chance of avoiding relegation after one season in the Championship, while hoping one of their nearest rivals lost their remaining three fixtures.
Nicky Maynard had given the hosts hope but Sergi Canos levelled minutes later and Lasse Vibe, Ryan Woods and Jake Bidwell all added their names to the scoresheet in the second half.
"I'm sick really. If I'm being honest, we've not been good enough all year," said manager Robinson. "Some of them today have made my mind up for me for different reasons - I have learnt a lot that's for sure.
"It's a difficult one for us all to take and I want to say thank you to the fans, but the most honest thing for all of us is the league table.
"In terms of the football club we have to look at what we could have done differently in lots of areas of the football club.
"There will be a lot of talking going on in the next seven days for obvious reasons, but certain people will not be here next season."
Robinson, in charge since 2010, plans to talk over the club's situation with chairman Pete Winkelman.
He said: "I think everybody knows my dedication for the football club, but I think it's time to go back to my family and take a step back a little bit. I've never known what it's been like to be relegated and it really hurts.
"I think everybody knows I'd like to be here next year, but it's a case of sitting down and having some long conversations with the chairman."
Brentford boss Dean Smith paid tribute to Robinson after the contest: "I thought the result was more satisfactory than the performance - I think we can play better than that really.
"But we have to credit MK Dons a little bit as well, they kept us honest defensively but I think the difference was that we scored the goals at the right times.
"We came here with a game plan and wanted to back up the rest of our performances in previous weeks.
"We gave them a few too many chances for my liking and it became too much of an open game at times.
"I've had some fantastic games against MK Dons when I was at Walsall previously. I've got a lot of respect for Karl Robinson and I think you can see the supporters here have respect for him too.
"He got a worthy round of applause at the end and it just shows the public here like him and they like the way his teams play."
