Paul Doswell reckons Craig Dundas’ place in the Sutton United hall of fame is already assured.

The midfielder clocked up 400 club appearances on Saturday in United’s 2-0 win over Dartford at Gander Green Lane.

After making his debut in the days before Doswell in 2007, Dundas spent one season with Hampton & Richmond before returning to the Lane in 2010.

Since then, he has been a permanent fixture in the Doswell revolution, and the manager is in no doubt of the 34-year-old’s contribution.

He said: “Craig is the proverbial old red wine that year on year just gets better and better.

“He never has particularly good starts to the season, and I always reflect back that the way Craig is, is the way the team is.

“He tends to really push on from November onwards, and it’s happened again this year.”

He added: “But as a person, his contribution to the club has been huge. He has taken on his role of strength and conditioning coach like a duck to water.

“He takes a lot of the sessions during the week – that has given him a responsibility that he has enjoyed and that has probably led him to want to keep going on the pitch – I don’t have enough praise for him.

“The word legend can be used loosely, but in non-League terms and in today’s terms, he is up there now with Sutton United legends, and he will definitely hit the hall of fame when he retires.”

Dundas has already hinted that he will keep wearing the yellow and gold until his legs give up, and that his future lies only with United.

Doswell said: “At the start of the season, I told Craig that as long as your legs keep going, you will be with us.

“He knows that, whether it’s a year or two years, who knows.

“But Craig will not want to let his standards drop and if he feels he cannot do it, he will be the first one to tell us.”

He added: “You don’t get players making that many appearances for a club at non-League level these days.

“Today it is all about money, it is fair to say he has never been the highest paid player at the club – and he just gets on with it.

“He never questions his deals, you put it in front of him, he signs it and off he goes – he is the easiest person in the world to manage.”