Latest news with #Lewington
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Lewington stays with Dons in development role
Long-serving defender Dean Lewington is to stay with MK Dons in a coaching role with the club's newly-formed development squad. The 40-year-old had been considering his future after deciding to retire at the end of the season following 917 appearances. He will work with first-year professional and schoolboy-level players as an individual development coach from the beginning of pre-season. "Lewie has been an integral part of this football club from day one, achieving something that I think we all agree will never be seen again," said sporting director Liam Sweeting. "We have been so fortunate to lean on Dean's wisdom on the pitch, but his new career path provides an excellent chance to pass on some of his experience to those aspiring to reach the senior level of football, and for Dean to enter the next chapter of his career as a coach." Lewington, who has acted as interim boss on three occasions, already has a Uefa B coaching licence and is now studying for his A licence. Holders of an A licence are eligible to coach men's teams up to and including the second tier. MK Dons legend Lewington to get Freedom of the City 'He's ridiculously humble' - Warne lauds retiring Lewington Ending playing career is 'a bit scary' - Lewington Lewington began his playing career with Wimbledon FC and stayed with them when they made the move to Milton Keynes in 2004. Lewington was involved in many of the club's biggest moments, winning the EFL Trophy at Wembley in 2008, beating Manchester United 4-0 in the League Cup in 2014 and winning promotion to the Championship in 2015. His final appearance as a player came as a late substitute in their season-ending game away to Swindon Town on 3 May.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
'He's ridiculously humble' - Warne lauds retiring Lewington
Dean Lewington played in the Dons' first game in Milton Keynes, against Barnsley in August 2004 [Getty Images] New MK Dons boss Paul Warne has paid tribute to Dean Lewington ahead of what may be the veteran defender's final game for the club. Lewington, 41, began his career with Wimbledon FC and stayed with them when they made the move to Milton Keynes in 2004. Advertisement He has confirmed that he will retire from playing at the end of the season and Saturday's home game against Grimsby Town has been named Dean Lewington Day as a show of respect. "He's like the MK Dons Ryan Giggs. I played about 500 games which I'm quite boasty about because I think that's impressive.... but to play nearly double that, to have the physical resilience for that is amazing, the way the modern game is," Warne told the club website. "I've seen him in team meetings and I've seen him out on the training pitch talking to the younger lads and telling them where they should be - his appetite for the game is impressive and that's possibly why he's played so many games. "He is so humble, ridiculously humble, which is a really impressive trait. If he were my son, I'd be very proud of him as a player and a human being. He's the perfect person you want in the dressing room." Advertisement Lewington was involved in many of the club's biggest moments, winning the EFL Trophy at Wembley in 2008, beating Manchester United 4-0 in the League Cup in 2014 and winning promotion to the Championship in 2015. "It's unique that every team photo (at the stadium) has got him on. And he's the easiest one to find. When I walk down the steps, there he is, it's not like 'Where's Wally?' where it's really tricky. 'Where's Dean?' is really an easy game to play," joked Warne, who was appointed on 15 April. "He will definitely, when he passes away, be in a vinegar jar somewhere as a freak of nature." Lewington last played in a 3-2 win over Cheltenham in November, but if he is involved against Grimsby, it will be his 916th game for the Dons, having broken John Trollope's 40-year record for the most league appearances for a single club in the EFL in 2023. Advertisement "It feels a bit surreal; it doesn't really feel like it's the end," he told BBC Three Counties Radio. "I'm not ready. I don't think you ever will be if you love something that has brought you so much joy and happiness and you still enjoy doing it; you never want to stop. "But obviously everything has a time and a place and I know it is time to stop, but my heart is not quite ready yet." He has been named interim boss on three occasions when previous managers left Stadium: MK but was not asked to do the job again when Warne's predecessor Scott Lindsey was sacked in January. Advertisement Only Peter Shilton, Tony Ford, Graham Alexander and Terry Paine have played more senior games in English football. But Lewington said: "Records ultimately are meaningless, it's just a list that you're top of. "The end of my career is going to feel different because it means so much to me, it's my life and it's going to affect me a little bit differently, but hopefully I'll be alright." He has only played nine games this season and said he felt as "distant" from the rest of the team as he has ever done despite being involved in training. "I've not been involved in the squad, not been to half the games, so it's been a really weird season for me," he continued. Advertisement "Even back at the start of the season, I probably knew this would be the last one but I was hoping the team would do well and it might end with a promotion, or at Wembley, something quite nice. "It's been a disappointing season for everyone concerned and hopefully they have made the change now (by bringing in Paul Warne) that will be in place for two or three years and they can have a bit of stability. "We may have hit rock bottom and hopefully now, this is the start of a comeback." Mk Dons are 18th in League Two, having lost in the play-offs last season, and following the game against Grimsby, they will end the campaign with a trip to Swindon Town on 3 May.
BBC News
25-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'He's ridiculously humble' - Warne lauds retiring Lewington
New MK Dons boss Paul Warne has paid tribute to Dean Lewington ahead of what may be the veteran defender's final game for the 41, began his career with Wimbledon FC and stayed with them when they made the move to Milton Keynes in has confirmed that he will retire from playing at the end of the season and Saturday's home game against Grimsby Town has been named Dean Lewington Day as a show of respect."He's like the MK Dons Ryan Giggs. I played about 500 games which I'm quite boasty about because I think that's impressive.... but to play nearly double that, to have the physical resilience for that is amazing, the way the modern game is," Warne told the club website, external."I've seen him in team meetings and I've seen him out on the training pitch talking to the younger lads and telling them where they should be - his appetite for the game is impressive and that's possibly why he's played so many games."He is so humble, ridiculously humble, which is a really impressive trait. If he were my son, I'd be very proud of him as a player and a human being. He's the perfect person you want in the dressing room."Lewington was involved in many of the club's biggest moments, winning the EFL Trophy at Wembley in 2008, beating Manchester United 4-0 in the League Cup in 2014 and winning promotion to the Championship in 2015."It's unique that every team photo (at the stadium) has got him on. And he's the easiest one to find. When I walk down the steps, there he is, it's not like 'Where's Wally?' where it's really tricky. 'Where's Dean?' is really an easy game to play," joked Warne, who was appointed on 15 April. "He will definitely, when he passes away, be in a vinegar jar somewhere as a freak of nature." Lewington last played in a 3-2 win over Cheltenham in November, but if he is involved against Grimsby, it will be his 916th game for the Dons, having broken John Trollope's 40-year record for the most league appearances for a single club in the EFL in 2023. "It feels a bit surreal; it doesn't really feel like it's the end," he told BBC Three Counties Radio."I'm not ready. I don't think you ever will be if you love something that has brought you so much joy and happiness and you still enjoy doing it; you never want to stop."But obviously everything has a time and a place and I know it is time to stop, but my heart is not quite ready yet."He has been named interim boss on three occasions when previous managers left Stadium: MK but was not asked to do the job again when Warne's predecessor Scott Lindsey was sacked in Peter Shilton, Tony Ford, Graham Alexander and Terry Paine have played more senior games in English Lewington said: "Records ultimately are meaningless, it's just a list that you're top of."The end of my career is going to feel different because it means so much to me, it's my life and it's going to affect me a little bit differently, but hopefully I'll be alright."He has only played nine games this season and said he felt as "distant" from the rest of the team as he has ever done despite being involved in training."I've not been involved in the squad, not been to half the games, so it's been a really weird season for me," he continued."Even back at the start of the season, I probably knew this would be the last one but I was hoping the team would do well and it might end with a promotion, or at Wembley, something quite nice."It's been a disappointing season for everyone concerned and hopefully they have made the change now (by bringing in Paul Warne) that will be in place for two or three years and they can have a bit of stability."We may have hit rock bottom and hopefully now, this is the start of a comeback." Mk Dons are 18th in League Two, having lost in the play-offs last season, and following the game against Grimsby, they will end the campaign with a trip to Swindon Town on 3 May.
CBC
18-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
As son battles cancer, London musician's guitar raffle raises thousands for charity
Enter the Haggis guitarist says guitar raffle raised nearly $50K for cancer charities Image | Enter the Haggis Caption: Enter The Haggis performing at their last show in Troy, New York. Left to Right: James Campbell: percussion, Trevor Lewington: guitar/vocals, Tom Barraco: drums. (One Awesome Night Photography) After three decades, a London musician is stepping back from touring to be with his 12-year-old son, who is battling brain cancer. Trevor Lewington plays guitar and sings in the Celtic rock group Enter the Haggis, which performed their final shows in mid-March in Troy, N.Y. The band's sound features bagpipes, a violin and trumpet, and it' been featured in films and on television, including a PBS special. During the band's 18-show final tour in the U.S., Lewington says he decided to raffle off his first-ever guitar, a 1991 American Telecaster purchased at a Toronto pawn shop in the 90s, to raise money to fight paediatric brain cancer. After selling nearly $50,000 worth of raffle tickets to fans during the tour, the band held a draw on Mar. 25, and on Thursday, Lewington presented cheques of the proceeds to two London-based charities. More than $35,000 was donated to the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada, and more than $11,000 to Childcan. "It's beyond the financial support. It's just knowing ... there's a community of people that are there," he said. Childcan has been particularly helpful for the family over the past year, he added. "They're always reaching out to see how we're doing and trying to see whatever they can offer." Image | Enter the Haggis cheque presentation Caption: Trevor Lewington (second from the left) presents a cheque to the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada. Lewington - a guitarist and singer with the band Enter the Haggis - raffled his 1991 Fender Telecaster to raise money for cancer research. His 12-year-old son is currently battling brain cancer. (Matt Allen/CBC Radio) Open Image in New Tab Jennifer Schmittlein of Massachusetts won the raffle, and gifted the guitar to her husband, Jeffrey. The couple have become friends of the band over the years, and in January, took part in Camp Haggis, an annual winter getaway the band holds in Vermont. At the camp, Jennifer approached Lewington, asking if she could buy one of his guitars for Jeffrey's birthday. Out of sheer coincidence, the couple also took home the raffle Telecaster. "We bought one ticket, and out of the thousands of people that bought a lot of tickets, we got lucky," Jeffrey Schmittlein said. The two have followed the band for a long time, attending several shows during the final tour, he said. Media Audio | Afternoon Drive : London musician donates proceeds from guitar sale to fight pediatric brain cancer Caption: Trevor Lewington, a guitarist with the band Enter the Haggis has raffled off his first-ever guitar and raised $50,000 in the process, with proceeds going to pediatric brain cancer charities, as his own son battles the disease. Winners Jeffrey Schmittlein and his wife Jennifer are the lucky fans who took home the guitar. Open Full Embed in New Tab Loading external pages may require significantly more data usage than loading CBC Lite story pages. After hearing the news about Lewington's son, "I said ... we have to help support Trevor in this project. This is amazing, and he's an amazing guy." Enter the Haggis is known for playing New Year's shows every year at Iron Horse, a venue in Northampton not far from the couple's home. (Lewington proposed to his wife in the venue's green room during one of the annual shows.) During a recent show in Maine, the band was asked to name their favourite place to play gigs. Jeffrey thought the answer would be Iron Horse, but instead, "they talked about so many places and so many people." "It hit me, they know their fans' first names and who they are and what their life is like from so many other places," he said. Not only is the band musically creative and talented, but "they're also just nice people," he said. Back home in London, Lewington says the family's perspective on life has changed since their son's cancer diagnosis, and spending quality time together is the main priority. He says the raffle is a good news story in the midst of the political turmoil engulfing the two countries. "We've had the pleasure of knowing so many wonderful people in the U.S. over the last 25 years of touring in the U.S." he said.
BBC News
09-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Ending playing career is 'a bit scary'
Dean Lewington once admitted to being a bit of a footballing dinosaur."As you get older, especially the way modern football is going, over 30s are seen as prehistoric really," he said in the autumn of 2022 as he approached the 900th match of his just over a month away from his 41st birthday, time has finally caught up with the MK Dons defender, who will end his time as a player at the end of the Peter Shilton, Tony Ford, Graham Alexander and Terry Paine have played more senior games in English football than Lewington."It feels quite surreal. Beforehand 'retiring' is just a word, it sounds OK and then it dawned on me that I won't get to play football (any more), which is a little bit scary now that it's come to it," he told BBC Look East."It's been on my mind for maybe two years now and it's just the right time."I was in a Sunday league team at six, in an academy at eight, and I'm now about to turn 41, so three quarters of my life has been playing football. "My whole life will change and that part is unfortunately coming to an end." From Wimbledon to Milton Keynes Lewington played his first league game as an 18-year-old for the old Wimbledon FC against Sheffield Wednesday in April 2003, just a few months before the club relocated to Milton was a controversial decision by the InterMK consortium, headed by Pete Winkelman, and led to them being renamed MK Dons ahead of the 2004-05 season."The news about coming to Milton Keynes was circulating for a year or two, but it was still under the Wimbledon name so it was kind of a weird time," he said. "There was a lot of uncertainty and a lot of noise around the move because it had never happened before. It was a strange time but quite exciting for a young player. "If I'd been mid-career it would have been very different, but for a young player it felt new and a challenge and turned into this (long career)."He continued: "We didn't know where it was at all really....20 years ago there were roads with a lot of piles of sand and dirt where (housing) estates would be (in the future) so it had a different feel about it. "My Mum told me that they offered my nan (a chance) to relocate to Milton Keynes in the 60s or 70s, but she turned it down - so I came instead! "It was all new, most of the boys were from inner London, it was something we'd never come across." MK 'does make sense, it's just a little bit different' Many visiting Milton Keynes for the first time have mixed feelings about it, but Lewington feels right at home."Anyone who comes here says 'I don't understand it' and I kind of understand what they mean from being an outsider coming here," he said. "There are some really nice villages on the outskirts. And when you drive into town you can park right outside the restaurants, whereas in London you have to find a car park and walk 10 minutes, or use public transport. "If you immerse yourself in it, you appreciate why it was designed the way it was and it does make sense, it's just a little bit different."Lewington has had plenty of great moments as a Don, including a 4-0 League Cup win over Manchester United in 2014, in front of a crowd of more than 26, that is not the best memory from his long career."The Yeovil game here (in 2015) to get (promotion) to the Championship is probably the best moment. It took 10 years for us to get to there," Lewington said. 'My peers retired six or seven years ago' Lewington has not played a first-team game since the end of November, but what does he put his longevity down to?"I'm not an explosive player so I don't have a tendency to pull muscles."He added: "My peer groups that I came through with retired six or seven years ago. I feel very fortunate that I managed to stay relatively injury-free which allowed me to play for so long and also that my style of game allowed me to do that. "This last season has been disappointing in terms of how many games I've played but before that I've played most of the season (each year) and it's something that I love doing. It's a job that most people would give their right arm to do."Lewington has been MK Dons interim boss on three occasions but was overlooked for that role when Scott Lindsey was sacked in is currently working to earn his badges with a view to a move into coaching but admits it will be a huge wrench if the path forwards means he has to leave the club."I'm institutionalised now," he said. "It's such a fantastic club. I've poured my life into it for 20 years and it saddens me to see where it is at the moment (in League Two). "There is potential for it to be so much more and I would like to be involved in that, but whatever comes, we'll wait and see."
