Barry Fuller led AFC Wimbledon into League 1 but on Saturday he could play a part in sending them back down.

His summer move to the Gills ended a five-year spell with the Dons, captaining them at Wembley as they won the League 2 play-off final in 2016 and making more than 200 league appearances for the club.

He’s been one of manager Steve Lovell’s best signings since joining on a free after former Dons boss Neal Ardley felt the defender was surplus to requirements.

“He has been brilliant for us,” said Lovell. “When he signed he said he wouldn’t come in as a No.2 full-back.

“He came here to play and he has probably been our most consistent player over the season.”

Fuller deposed Luke O’Neill from the right-back position earlier in the season but has now made the left side his own.

Lovell’s favoured diamond formation is reliant on the energy of the full-backs and Fuller has acquitted well to the role.

“You wouldn’t think that he is 34, he is one of the fittest players at the club,” Lovell said.

“He has a different role with us. The diamond is something he hasn’t played a lot because at Wimbledon they played a basic 4-4-2 and he would be a right-back or a left-back. He wouldn’t be asked to do what we do but he can do it.

“He has done it really well and I think he has enjoyed it. It has given him a new lease of life.”

Fuller is out of contract in the summer but is showing no sign of slowing down and his attitude on the training ground is exactly what Lovell expects.

“He looks after himself and is a true professional who trains the way he plays,” added Lovell.

“He is a great advert for youngsters coming through. It is what we all went through, it was a given, you train the way you play and we have instilled that at this club over that last couple of years.

“You can’t have people not giving everything every day. It is something we have always done.”

Sign up to our Gills newsletter for all the latest from Priestfield