Former Sutton United skipper Jamie Stuart paid homage to Paul Doswell after quitting the club to be reunited with his old AFC Wimbledon boss.

Stuart joined Margate of the Ryman Premier League as a player/coach earlier this week after being approached by Terry Brown, who took the manager’s job last week.

While the 37-year-old admitted it was a no-brainer move, he also admitted it was tough to leave Gander Green Lane after more than 50 appearances in the yellow of United.

“I owe Paul [Doswell] a lot, he has been fantastic for me and we’ve had a great run,” he said.

“He is such a hard-working manager, which is why I think we got on so well.

“It was a tough decision to go, but having talked a lot with Dos, my wife and Terry, it was the right decision and a good decision.

“I have a family with two young children to think about, it just made sense.

“I cannot deny I will miss the people at Sutton, they are terrific – from Clive the kit man to the chairman Bruce and his wife, it is a great club.

“But I am not getting any younger, I want to move into coaching – I already coach the kids at Welling United – and Margate train not 15 minutes from home in Kidbrooke.”

He added: “I also want to go into management and working under Terry will be a terrific learning curve – they don’t call him the Alex Ferguson of non-League football for nothing.

“I know him well from my time at Wimbledon, I like how he wants his teams to play.”