Why former Portsmouth and QPR defender Lee Brown couldn't ignore strong family ties to AFC Wimbledon after completing Dons transfer

The 31-year-old, who hails from London, became the seventh senior player to leave Fratton Park this month, as Danny Cowley reshapes his squad for a play-off push.

And Brown explained how his close connection to the club influenced his decision, despite interest from a number of other League One sides.

The left-back revealed his grandad and father-in-law were a life-long Wimbledon fans before the club’s transition to MK Dons.

But with The News revealing yesterday that Brown was on the brink of a move to the capital, the man himself has described how the transfer happened very quickly.

He told AFC Wimbledon’s official website: ‘I live local and my grandad used to support Wimbledon, my father-in-law supported Wimbledon. I know the story well, I’m a local boy, as such, and I’m really excited to come!

‘It feels good to come to a club with such great history. It’s one that I’ve watched from afar.

‘Now that I’m in the building it’s something I want to get my teeth into and be a part of moving forward.

‘There’s been a few twists and turns, but the transfer happened quite quickly. It’s over the line now and hopefully we can look forward.’

AFC Wimbledon will be hoping Brown’s experience will pull them away from the relegation zone, with the club sitting one point above the bottom four.

But the defender explained how Dons boss Mark Robinson’s meticulous work ethic convinced him to make the move.

Brown added: ‘Mark Robinson’s attention to detail stood out for me.

‘I met him during the week, and we went through presentations.

‘This included what he expected from me. There was also a little bit about the lads we’ve got here and the history of the club, which I knew about anyway, but I was really impressed and there are exciting times ahead.

‘It’s such a lovely stadium here and an amazing achievement for everyone involved, it’s the basis of a good football club to get a new stadium and hopefully we can kick on from there as a platform.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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