Jim Fenlon declared his love for all things AFC Wimbledon this week ahead of contract talks with the League Two club.
Lewisham-born Fenlon has known nothing else other than life among the Wombles since signing for them as a 16-year-old on his return from six years in Australia back in 2010, but his current deal will expire at the end of the season.
The left-back-cum wing-back has faced a constant battle for his spot with Callum Kennedy this season – a battle he has lost more often than not, making 15 appearances to his team-mate’s 25.
However, it seems nailing down a first-team shirt is not a deal breaker for a man for whom the Dons means home.
He said: “Wimbledon has been my club since I was 16 really, so obviously I’ve grown up here and it would be hard to go somewhere else.
“I’m just grateful to be here so if they offer me a new contract I will be happy to sign it, but at the moment there is nothing on the table, so it is up to me to earn a new deal.”
Fenlon suspects something which might help him clinch that deal is if boss Neal Ardley continues to deploy the 3-5-2 formation he has experimented with in recent games.
It is a ploy which has forced the 19-year-old into a wing-back role which is unfamiliar to him, but which instinctively he prefers to operating in a flat back four.
He added: “Wing-back suits me because I like to get forward as well, but I’ve not really played the position before until this season, so it might take me a while to get used to it.
“Once I’ve played there for a few games in a row it will be my preferred position.”
