AFC Wimbledon new boy Lee O'Leary claims he did not deserve to see red after lasting just 33 minutes in his first game for the club.

O'Leary joined the Dons from Hendon last week and went straight into the side that lost 2-0 to Hampton & Richmond side on Saturday.

But the 22-year-old will remember his Dons debut for all the wrong reasons after he was dismissed for a high tackle on Marvyn Bartley.

And, while the midfielder admits he wants to forget his disastrous debut as soon as possible, he insists he did not deserve to be sent off.

He said: "I don't think it was warranted.

"To be honest, I had a problem with Bartley on Monday night when I was playing for Hendon.

"As soon as he took that bad touch, I knew he was going to try to do me.

"I backed out of it and protecting myself by putting up my foot and he came off worse.

"The referee wasn't going to send me off. He only did so after the linesman told him to.

"Everyone came in and made it look bigger than it was, and then the referee pulled me to the side and told me he wasn't going to send me off.

"Then the linesman came over - and that was it."

Despite his ignominious debut, O'Leary is ecstatic to be at the Dons and is looking forward to his first run-out in a blue shirt at Kingmeadow.

"It is great to be here, though it's late in the season," he said.

"If it was any other club, I wouldn't have left Hendon.

"Because of the history and how big the club is, I couldn't turn it down.

"The boys are great - I knew a couple of them before I came.

"I can't wait for the first game at Kingsmeadow.

"The atmosphere and crowd are unbelievable."

Remaining fixtures - Sat, March 31: Slough Town (h); Sat, April 7: Boreham Wood (a); Mon, April 9: Staines Town (h); Sat, April 14: Folkestone Invicta (a); Sat, April 21: Heybridge Swifts (h); Sat, April 28: East Thurrock United (a).