Terry Brown admits he hates playing the tinkerman after the Dons boss once again wielded the axe on a promotion-winning side this week.

A year on from cutting loose ten of his Ryman Premier play-off winning team, Brown has offloaded nine of AFC Wimbledon’s Blue Square South title-winning squad, including first-team regulars Tom Davis, Tony Finn and skipper Jason Goodliffe.

And Brown insists it is a routine he hopes never to have to go through again.

He said: “It has been a horrible week.

“It is certainly not a side of the job that I enjoy, but it is something that needed to be done.

“With back-to-back promotions you are always having to adapt very quickly, and the simple fact of the matter is we are looking to go full-time next year and have to put together a squad ready to make that jump.

“If we can do that I would hope that in future years the departure list will be much less dramatic, as in the last two seasons it has been a bit of a culling exercise.”

Davis and Finn are likely to raise most eyebrows, with the pair making 47 and 48 first-team appearances this season respectively.

And Brown revealed the decision to offload the midfielders had not been simply a football one.

He added: “We are trying to put together a squad that can train four nights a week and eventually go full-time, and both Tom and Tony have good jobs.

“We knew we were never going to be able to pay them the difference, and that was a big factor in the decision.

“They both have young families, and I think they are much better off sticking to part-time football.”

Belal Aiteouakrim, Chris Sullivan, Mickey Haswell, Dean Mason, Michael Peacock and Luke Pigden are the other names to feature.

And Brown has nothing but praise for his departing troupe.

He added: “With Belal and Chris they have both had injury-hit campaigns, and have never really got started.

“Michael, Luke and Dean are very talented footballers, but they need more experience.

“I would have kept the three of them if we had not gone up, but the Blue Square Premier will be too big a jump for them.

“It is better if they get first-team football at a lower level, and who knows, I may sign them again in a year or so.”

Brown admitted there may still be more to follow out of the Kingsmeadow door, but for now he will switch attention to bringing players in.

And the Wimbledon manager is looking for a very specific style of talent.

Brown added: “I have been earmarking players since Christmas, but obviously I do not expect to get all my targets.

“The aim is to put together as small a squad as I can get away with, and I am looking at 18 to 20 players.

“For that to work, you really need utility players who are comfortable in a number of positions.

“So for me the hard work starts now to get those guys in - if I have a good month my job next season will be a lot easier.”

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