When AFC Wimbledon run out onto the Cherry Red Records stadium pitch tonight to face the might of Liverpool for a place in the fourth round of the FA Cup, there will be one Dons fan hiding his excitement.

And come the final whistle, win, lose or draw, Dean Parsons’ emotions will remain a secret.

That’s because the 40-year-old, life-long Dons fans will be in character as Haydon the Womble.

It’s a love affair between man/Womble and club that stretches back 31 years, and tonight Parsons has discovered a new level of pride.

He said: “It is hard to put into words just how excited I am about the game. I did not sleep very much last night, which probably says it all.

“Twelve years ago, the club was told we were not in the wider interest of football, and once again we’re proving that could not be further from the truth.

“It has taken us a while, but we’re in the third round of the FA Cup for the first time and we’re hosting Liverpool – is that not in the wider interest of football?”

He added: “As a football team it’s a great achievement, but when you consider how hard the staff and volunteers have worked since the draw was announced, that says something else about the club itself.”

In 1988, ahead of Wimbledon’s famous FA Cup final win over Liverpool, Parsons’ father obviously had a premonition about his son’s excitement levels and inability to sleep before a big game.

Parsons said: “I was at Wembley for that final in 1988, but I did not know we had tickets until the morning of the game.

“My dad was sly about that, he clearly knew the only way to get me to sleep on the eve of the game was not to tell me about the tickets.

“On the morning of the game, I asked him where we’d be watching it, I thought we were going to my uncle’s house, and dad casually said ‘Well, we’re going to Wembley’.”

He added: “He knew if he had told me the day before, I’d be up at 4am wearing my Dons kit and raring to go.”

When it comes to predictions, Parsons is torn. He said: “I’d like to see us score, ideally in a 2-2 draw and a replay at Anfield for the money.

“Winning would be fantastic, but that would be me thinking with my heart rather than my head,”