Wanderers boss Gareth Ainsworth says Saturday’s opponents AFC Wimbledon have done “phenomenal” things since their foundation in 2002.

The Dons rose from the ashes after the original Wimbledon team moved to Milton Keynes, and rapidly ascended the lower leagues under supporter ownership before earning promotion to the Football League in 2012.

Tomorrow’s match is Wycombe’s second game in four days against a fellow fan owned club, and Blues’ meetings with the Dons and Exeter have coincided with Supporter Ownership Week, an initiative to highlight the work of Supporters Direct, a group who have assisted the Wycombe Wanderers Trust with the launch of their community share scheme.

The Chairboys are one of four fan owned clubs in League Two and Ainsworth, a former Wimbledon player, is fully aware of the challenges that both clubs have faced in recent years.

He said: “To have done what they’ve done in six or seven years is phenomenal; really, really brilliant. They’re obviously a club close to my heart because that was my club when I played in the Premier League.

“The fans are always passionate and we know how hard it is to have a trust owned club, we know it firsthand. We were nearly one of the first trust owned clubs to go out of the league and get it spectacularly wrong but we survived and now we’ve built.

“We know how hard it is for teams like ourselves, Exeter, Portsmouth and Wimbledon. All these trust owned clubs I have massive respect for because I understand the plight that they’re up against and the financial constraints.

“I’ve got a good friend in Neal Ardley, an ex-team mate, real good memories of the club, but on Saturday there’s only one team I want to win and that’s Wycombe Wanderers.”

Neal Ardley’s men are 13th in League Two following a 1-1 draw against Plymouth last time out and are nine points adrift of the play-offs with three games to play.

The sides have met twice this season – Wanderers winning 2-0 in the league and the Dons 1-0 in the FA Cup – but Paul Hayes feels Blues will face a different challenge when they take to the field on Saturday.

“They’ve got a few different players to what they had when we played them in league and cup,” he said.

“They’ve added a few and a few players have left so they’re a different outfit. You know what you get with AFC Wimbledon and on their day they’re a very good team.

"I hope we get them on an off day because I know that if they win all their games they’ve got a chance of the play-offs so they’re going to want to win.”