WANDERERS skipper David McCracken has joined arch-rivals MK Dons on a two-year deal after turning down a new contract at Adams Park.

The 27-year-old joined Blues’ League One rivals on a free transfer on Friday.

The Scot, who led Wanderers to promotion last season, says he has gone for a new challenge and to fulfil his ambitions -– something Wanderers could not match at the moment.

He told the Dons website: “I’m delighted to be here. I got the feeling straight away that this was a club moving in the right direction at speed. It’s a great club to be joining.”

His announcement comes at a time when Wanderers’ own future is anything but clear following Friday’s Bucks Free Press revelation that MD and multi-millionaire Steve Hayes will stop funding the club if he is not given full control.

Boss Peter Taylor’s future was also up in the air over the weekend although he is now staying where he is, having agreed a player budget with Hayes.

McCracken said: “It was a very hard decision to make and possibly if the club had been able to say who they were signing it would have been different.

“Wycombe offered me a fantastic contract and I know Peter Taylor wanted to build a squad and a team that could compete in League One next season.

“But he hadn’t been able to bring anyone in. He was trying to attract players but didn’t have any clarity to do it.

“It made it very difficult for him and I could see his frustration. He’s that type of person that is very ambitious. He’s won a few promotions and he wants another one.”

Taylor’s frustration at not being in a position so sign players threatened his future at the club.

It was reported in the national media on Sunday that he could resign this week, but Blues acted swiftly to keep him on board, and their former captain says it was a smart move.

McCracken said: “It is massive for the club that they keep him. The club have got to show that commitment that they want him to stay.

“They have got to recognise that he gets the best out of players. His coaching is second to none as everyone knows and his man management is excellent.

“He recognises the best way to get the best out of people.”

McCracken was unsettled last summer when Taylor joined the club following the departure of Paul Lambert, but Taylor talked him around and nine months later the pair were celebrating promotion.