Neal Ardley’s appointment as manager of AFC Wimbledon was the right decision, and Erik Samuelson reckons he knew that was the case the moment it was done.

The Dons chief executive hailed Ardley’s skills on the touchline that steered the club to this afternoon's League Two play-off final.

However, he was also full of praise for Ardley’s work behind the scenes, and he is expecting a lot more from the 43-year-old.

“From the moment we appointed him, I knew it was a good appointment,” Samuelson said.

“Sometimes you go on chat-sites and see the criticism he gets, but if they only saw at close hand just how good he is they would appreciate the gem we have here.”

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He added: “There is not only steady improvement on the pitch that everyone sees, about also behind the scenes there has been massive incremental improvement every season in everything we do.

“He is very clear about what he wants and realistic about what we can afford – but when he wants it, we try to find ways of delivering it.

“He puts his life into it, and I expect even greater things from him.”

The prospect of playing Plymouth Argyle holds no fear for Samuelson as his play-off predictions thus far have been proven correct.

“I felt for Accrington because they came close twice, and that can happen, but it did not happen to us because we have Neal,” he said.

“We went into the play-offs on a run - I absolutely believed we would get to the final and I believe we will win, because we have got a good team.

“It is yet to perform as well as it can – it is playing well, but there is more in there – and we have an excellent manager.”