He said: ‘‘I’m a pragmatist. I realise that the football club has to survive. They paid £26m (€42m) for the club and they’re losing a lot of money.

‘‘Whoever gets the manager’s position will certainly know they’ve got a challenge. But I’d quite like that. And Terry Burton has left a good platform.’’

Wimbledon chairman Charles Koppel has defended the decision to part company with Burton claiming the team’s performances were the chief reason behind the move.

The Dons yesterday announced Burton had ‘‘been released from his duties’’ after the club failed to clinch a place in the First Division play-offs.

Players themselves led a chorus of disbelief about the decision but Koppel maintained that the team’s underachievement had been his prime motivation, and slammed rumours implying a falling-out with Burton over team selection.

He told BBC Radio 5 Live: ‘‘The issue is that maybe our expectation as a club and as a board was greater than that which was delivered.

‘‘At the start of the season we felt we had an excellent chance of potentially getting automatic promotion and certainly play-offs and we feel that the club has underachieved this season.’’