AFC Wimbledon boss Neal Ardley is sticking to reality rather than history in the run-up to yet another trip to the franchise – this time in the second round of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy.

It will mark the third cup meeting between the two, all away from the Cherry Red Record stadium, starting with the infamous FA Cup clash in 2012.

The Carling One Cup meeting in August was a low-key affair, with the Dons management playing down its significance.

And tonight’s match is likely to register less than a ripple in the history books as Ardley considers the task ahead.

He said: “The tie is disappointing for a number of reasons – number one, we don’t really want to play them. Two, it’s away from home, in their yard on a big pitch.

“Third, because of the needle between the clubs, and them being one of the better teams in League One pushing for promotion, it’s probably the hardest draw we could have got.

“Forgetting the history and how much our fans would love to beat them, at this moment they are a good team – it is a really tough cup tie.”

Last time the Dons, who took a point from Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Cheltenham Town last weekend, went up the M1, they were still finding their feet in the League Two season.

Pride saw Ardley send out a strong 11, but he has a different mindset this time round.

He said: “We went for it in the Capital One Cup game, we put out a strong team and had a crack at it and got beat 3-1.

“But I am not going to risk injuries for this game, we’ll try to win it, but we’ll be careful and mindful of the fact our squad is not massive.

“Whatever happens, we have to play six first team players, so we’ll look at the bodies in the run up to the game and try to pick the freshest team.”