Former Wimbledon star Marcus Gayle reckons he would be a wealthier man now if his old club had paid him what he was worth.

The 43-year-old Staines Town manager teamed up with fellow Dons legend Dean Holdsworth to form a lethal Premier League strike partnership that once fired the Crazy Gang – under Joe Kinnear – to the brink of an FA Cup final appearance.

Gayle had switched to Selhurst Park from Brentford for £250,000 and went on to make more than 200 appearances for the club scoring 47 goals before a £900,000 switch to Rangers.

He subsequently moved on to Watford for a similar fee – where he played more than 100 games – and returned to Griffin Park before closing out his playing career at Kingsmeadow and joining AFC’s coaching staff.

And while he insists playing football was never about the money, Gayle always had the sense he was undervalued in the top flight.

“For me playing football was always about playing in front of big crowds and testing yourself against the best players. It wasn’t about the money,” he said.

“I was paid £75-a-week at Brentford as an 18-year-old and I often would not have enough money for the bus fare home after training.

“But I looked at it as an opportunity, to make a career out of football. I learnt a lot of life skills and it shaped me and that is what I tell my players now.

“After couple of years at Wimbledon it got to the point where I felt I was underpaid.

“I’d seen off ‘X’ amount of striker partners, but was still on less money than those around me. I wanted to be paid what I was worth.

“In 1997, Blackburn made a £6m bid for me, but I wasn’t allowed to leave. Martin O’Neill bid £3m for me and the same thing happened.

“I look at the average wages now of £20,000 or £35,000 a week and I would say I was worth above the average wage.”

The only silverware Gayle collected in his career, which included a World Cup appearance for Jamaica, was the Division Three title with the Bees and the Ryman Premier League crown with AFC Wimbledon.

Yet the words of former Manchester United defender-turned-Sky-Sports-pundit Gary Neville have stayed with him as a cherished memory from his playing days.

“I was always very competitive, but always played the game in a sporting manner,” he added.

“Gary was talking about a player who got sent off for an elbow or a head butt last season and mentioned me straight away.

“He said I was always a handful to play against, but always fair and never dirty.

“He has played against the best in the world and for him to remember me straight away in that way is a huge compliment for someone who came from such a humble football background.”

Your Local Guardian: Repeat offender: Kingston College Football Academy graduate goalkeeper Kyle Merson had to get used to this sight as Brentford fired five goals past him in their 5-0 FA Cup first round win over Marcus Gayle’s Staines Town  Deadlinepix SP80782

Gayle watched his Staines team, featuring former Kingston College football academy keeper Kyle Merson between the sticks, thrashed 5-0 by his former club Brentford in the FA Cup at the weekend.

But he insists his relative success in management thus far is down to a footballing philosophy far removed from his own playing days.

“When I played the game it was all about getting the ball forward quickly and directly. There was a lot of heading of the ball,” he said.

“I grew up as a kid playing with the ball on the ground and that is the way I want my teams to play. To play the ball through midfield.

“It worked with the youngsters at AFC Wimbledon and a couple of them have gone on to play in the Football League.

“We’ve got a young squad at Staines and I always tell them we are giving them the opportunity to further their careers.

“It is not about how much money we have in terms of our playing budget – which is not a lot compared to others in our league – it is about how much you want it.”