Wanderers boss Gareth Ainsworth says he has bittersweet memories of his time at Wimbledon ahead of the trip to Kingsmeadow on Saturday.

Ainsworth spent five years from 1998-2003 on Wimbledon’s books where he achieved a personal ambition of both playing and scoring in the Premier League.

The club now operates under the guise of AFC Wimbledon and Ainsworth recalls both highs and lows during his time with the South Londoners.

“I joined them when they were in the Premier League and it was a big step for me. It was the club I played my first Premier League game for and scored my first Premier League goals against Newcastle for,” he said.

“It is what every player dreams of and I remember it well, but the unfortunate thing was I picked up some bad injuries at the start of my time there which restricted my playing time.

“I left just before it became MK Dons and never played for the club under that name. I am proud of what I did there and proud to have represented Wimbledon.”

Wimbledon will be forever associated with the Crazy Gang side that upset Liverpool in the 1988 FA Cup Final as Lawrie Sanchez’s goal sealed a famous win.

They also had a reputation for a hostile approach and it was well known that players who joined the club would expect to undergo initiations and regular pranks.

While Ainsworth came into the club towards the end of the period he still remembers enjoying a culture that was informed by the reputation of the Crazy Gang.

He explained: “When I got to the club it was still in the Crazy Gang era and I had the initiations and had my clothes burned.

“Neal Ardley (the current AFC manager) was a big member of the dressing room and keeping that atmosphere going at Wimbledon.”

With Ardley managing in the same division as himself Ainsworth has been keeping abreast of his good friends work with Wimbledon and has experienced a similar career path.

The pair have both had to contend with financial troubles and have both survived relegation fights. The similarities have led Ainsworth to admire the work done by his one-time teammate.

Ainsworth said: “Season after season we have been in management at the same time and gone through the same sort of things. We have both survived relegation and I am good mates with him.

“He has done a fantastic job there and what the club have done in founding AFC and keeping Wimbledon going is amazing.”