MK Dons’ Head Coach Mike Williamson has left the club to take the vacant Head Coach role at Carlisle United.

Williamson, along with his coaching staff Chris Bell, Carl Magnay and Ian Watson, have moved from Stadium MK to Brunton Park, with Williamson signing a contract of undisclosed length with the Cumbrians.

The move ends Williamson’s tenure at MK Dons, with the former Newcastle defender and Gateshead Head Coach leaving after 11 months at Stadium MK.

MK Dons confirmed that the club had rejected an initial bid by Carlisle, but that a second offer that met a release clause in Williamson’s contract with MK Dons was accepted.

Williamson replaces Paul Simpson, who was sacked at the end of August by Carlisle after two years in his second spell in charge. Simpson had taken Carlisle to promotion in the 2022/23 season, but the Cumbrians finished rock bottom of League One last season and won one of their opening four games before Simpson’s departure.

One of Simpson’s final games in charge had seen Carlisle beaten 3-0 by Williamson’s MK Dons at Stadium MK, in one of the Dons’ two wins in all competitions so far this season.

Williamson leaves with MK Dons 20th in the table, having lost 4 of the first 6 games of the season.

The former Gateshead boss initially impressed in Milton Keynes, winning 10 of his first 15 games in charge

MK Dons captain and player-coach Dean Lewington has been confirmed as taking caretaker charge of the first team squad, including for Saturday’s match against Doncaster Rovers at Stadium MK.

In a statement confirming the departure, MK Dons said, “MK Dons would like to thank Mike, Ian, Chris and Carl for their efforts during their time at Stadium MK. Everyone at MK Dons wishes them every success in the future.

“Chairman Fahad Al Ghanim, CEO Neil Hart, Sporting Director Liam Sweeting and Performance and Operations Director Simon Crampton have already actively begun the search for a new Head Coach.

“MK Dons look forward to updating supporters on the appointment very soon.”

Williamson told the official Carlisle United website that he was looking forward to getting started.

He said, “It’s been a whirlwind, as they always are. I’ve just had a look around. It’s a fantastic club and I’m really excited, I’ve got a lot of energy and I’m looking forward to getting started.

“It’s a historic club, as soon as I spoke to the owners, you could see the passion and the values that they embodied.

“It’s really exciting, I can see all the developments going on.

“I just want to get on the grass, I want to meet the lads now. Really exciting times and we just want to come here and make sure that we give everything we’ve got and we’re here to support the club and do what we possibly can and we know we can help the players on the field as well.”

When asked about his decision to change, he added, “There was a multitude of reasons. I think obviously again about how well supported Carlisle are and how passionate these guys are.

“I live in the North East and my family are settled there so obviously there’s a lot of elements that go into it. The project and the owners were key. From the outside there’s nothing but good said about them.

“You can see they just want it for the community, they want it for the supporters. I really liked that, I really liked the feel and that was important to me.”