Former Hearts coach Robbie Neilson has said he's a better manager after his experience at MK Dons and has no regrets about leaving Tynecastle.

Neilson left Hearts in December 2016 to join the ambitious English League One side and achieved initial success in leading them from relegation trouble to a mid-table finish.

He admits things didn't progress enough from there and left the club by mutual consent in January of this year and he told STV he still thinks he made the right decision in trying to help MK Dons reach their ambitions.

"I think it was an opportunity to go down to England and to a club that could progress and be a project over the next few years," he said. "Having spoken to the chairman there I knew there was great potential in the stadium and the surrounding infrastructure so it was a great opportunity.

"No [I wasn't looking to leave Hearts]. I had a couple of teams that had spoken to me but it just wasn't right but this one felt right.

"I had a fantastic time at Hearts. It was nearly three years and it was a great learning curve and a great progression but I felt it was the right time to go and a good opportunity.

"I just felt it was the right club to go to and it was really, really ambitious. It still is. It's had a difficult period in the last three or four years but the infrastructure is there and I just hoped that I would be the one to help them do it.

"The reason I went down there was not just to progress myself career-wise but as a person as well and I think I definitely did that because it was an eye-opener to say the least at times."

He says his next employer will get a coach who has learned from the experience and is a better boss because of it.

"I'm 100% a better coach," he said. "A better manager and a better coach because you're dealing with things day to day that I didn't have to deal with at Hearts.

"Obviously we didn't have a director of football at Milton Keynes so you then have to deal with different aspects of the whole football club. It was a great learning curve.

"Ultimately results weren't good enough so you have to take it on the chin as a manager. We spoke about a three or four year plan.

"The first six months we managed to secure them in the league and finished top half. Second season probably recruitment-wise we had too much of a turnaround and the results didn't come so the chairman decided he wanted to go down a different avenue. It's part of football.

"The future is to continue managing. To continue to progress myself and progress clubs and players.

"I had a fantastic time at Hearts, the whole time I was there. I had a great first eight months at MK Dons and the last few months were difficult but you have to have highs and lows in football.

"You can't constantly go up the way but I'm looking forward to the next few years.

"Hopefully getting a team that wants to go places and has got potential and go do it."