As the new campaign's Johnstone's Paint Trophy gets underway last season's winning captain, Keith Andrews, no longer has an active interest in the competition.

Instead Andrews, who skippered Milton Keynes Dons to the League 2 title as well as their Trophy triumph at Wembley, will be following MK's progress in the media as he settles into life in the Premiership with his new club Blackburn Rovers.

But despite swapping the prospect of games against the likes of Yeovil, Cheltenham and Hartlepool for meetings with Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal, Andrews says he will not forget what playing for the Dons did for his career.

The 27 year-old former Wolves and Hull City midfielder, signed last week in a £1.3million deal by Blackburn manager Paul Ince just two months after Ince himself had left MK for Ewood Park, says: "The two seasons I had at MK Dons have given me my best memories in football.

"Raising the Johnstone's Paint Trophy at Wembley was obviously a fantastic moment for me and I'll never forget the whole occasion, and winning League 2 was also a great achievement I shared with my team mates and everyone else involved with the club.

"Being at the Dons turned my career round, there's no doubt about that. I feel that I let myself down in my early 20's, but after leaving Wolves then Hull on free transfers and landing in the bottom division for the first time, I realised I had to knuckle down.

"It really got me focused, and then when Paul Ince made me club captain the added responsibility also helped me to mature as a player.

"So I owe a lot to MK Dons, and not just to people like the chairman, management and my team mates but also to the many friends I made in and around the club."

Andrews is now making friends with a new set of club colleague and fans after jumping from the lower leagues to the top flight via a transfer that, at the age of 27 (he will be 28 in 10 days time), surprised many - including the player himself.

He says: "I always felt comfortable in the Championship so I thought that if Paul Ince ever left MK Dons for a Championship club then he might come in for me.

"When he went to the Premiership, though, I didn't expect it to happen. I've never played at that level before, but I have a great relationship with him and he obviously felt I was good enough to become a Premiership player.

"Now I have to prove that I am good enough, and at 27 I feel I've got plenty of time to do that. People have said to me that it's very unusual for a player of my age to be taken from a lower league club to the Premiership, but I don't think age is a problem.

"Players look after themselves these days and you see players of 30 and 31 signing four or five-year contracts with top clubs.

"So I'm comfortable with that aspect of my move, but I know that to achieve my first aim - to get into the Blackburn first team on a regular basis - is going to be a tough task because there are some fantastic players at the club.

"I'm settling in really well though, it's a very friendly club and I've been made welcome by everyone - in fact, I'm loving it!"