AFC Wimbledon boss Terry Brown insists mid-table mediocrity has been the perfect start to the season and is all part of his promotion masterplan.

The Dons backed up his sentiments with a 0-0 draw against high-scoring Cambridge United on Saturday to put them tenth in the Blue Square Premier table after nine games.

Brown’s side have made a solid, if unspectacular start to the campaign, to prove they can compete with the division’s big hitters having suffered only two defeats in the process.

Wimbledon are just three points off a play-off spot and the Kingsmeadow manager reckons his side are exactly where they want to be.

“We’ve made a nice solid start. We are mid-table and under the radar,” he said.

“It is the perfect place to be as far as I am concerned, while the players are still getting used to each other and understanding the way we play.

“If we had got off to a flyer expectation levels here would have gone through the roof.

“We need some time to make some mistakes together and grow.”

Debutant goalkeeper Seb Brown was spared his blushes when his first-half blunder almost let in United’s Danny Crow, but he recovered to keep a cleansheet in his first senior start for the club.

It means the Dons have only lost to OXford United of the former Football League clubs they have faced thus far as they prepare for the trip to Ebbsfleet Town on Saturday.

The target is to regain the club’s League status at the earliest opportunity having won two promotions in the last two years after clinching the Blue Square South title at the first attempt.

But Brown, who took Aldershot Town to within touching distance of the Football League during his time at the Recreation Ground, is playing down any talk of completing the hat-trick.

“We’ve got a very young side and I think we will be considerably better in a year’s time,” he added.

“We are battling to compete and struggling to stay in games at the moment. The main area we can’t compete in is experience, we haven’t got any and that is only going to come with time.

“That doesn’t mean to say we couldn’t get promoted this season, but I think we are still a long way off.”

Goalkeeper James Pullen is expected to be fit for the weekend, with Alan Inns also likely to be in contention.

AFC Wimbledon’s next three fixtures: Sept 19 Ebbsfleet Town (a), 22 Crawley Town (h), 26 Histon (h).