LAURIE Walker is ready for the new season after being handed a “great end” to the last with Latics.

The 31-year-old goalkeeper had never made his Football League debut when he arrived at Boundary Park on an emergency loan deal from MK Dons in March, following a season-ending injury for Ian Lawlor.

But after making his bow at home to Cambridge United - performing well in spite of a 4-2 defeat - Walker went on to make a total of 13 league starts under Keith Curle.

And he impressed enough to earn a new deal at parent club MK Dons, which he signed this summer.

Walker moved up the goalkeeping pecking order at Stadium MK following the departure of Lee Nicholls at the end of last season, but last week’s arrival of Argentine keeper Franco Ravizzoli has seen the competition for the jersey intensify, with former Blackburn Rovers stopper Andrew Fisher also vying for the number one spot.

Nevertheless, Walker is up for the battle having had his profile boosted by his Boundary Park spell.

"It was a really great end to the season after quite a tough mid-point of the season,” said Walker, who thanked manager Russell Martin for giving him the opportunity to join Latics last term.

“It (last year) was a really strange year for me. I made my debut for MK Dons, which was something I’ve been waiting for a long time, but then I didn’t play for a long time. I then went out on loan to get some minutes and it was great to be able to go make my league debut and get a number of games under my belt.

"I can't thank Russ and all the coaching staff enough for allowing me to do that and actually saying 'go on and express yourself and do what you've got to do.

“It was a good end to the season for me, and I learnt a lot and took a lot of valuable lessons.

“I never doubted my own ability but I just needed the chance to showcase what I can do.”

It led to a new deal being tabled for Walker, who has spent the bulk of his career in non-league football before coming full circle and returning to MK Dons, where his career first began.

Walker knows competition for the gloves is fierce, but he is not shying away from it.

“I'm just going to push and give everything I can to stake my claim to be playing at the start of the season,” he told the club website.

“I’m not just here to make up the numbers - I want to push and make a challenge for the position. I want to really put my foot to the floor and push all the way.”

Walker has another incentive to be involved, after all 16 of his appearances last season - 13 with Latics - we played behind closed doors.

He is relishing the opportunity to play in front of fans.

“That’s going to be special,” he said. “I had the moment of playing this year, but it was disappointing not having fans there to watch so I’m excited to get them back in the stadium.

“I think it’s been a massive miss this year. We put smiles on faces so it will be good to get that started again and give people what they deserve.”