When AFC Wimbledon goalkeeper Neil Sullivan was recalled by Doncaster Rovers, boss Neal Ardley was left facing his worst nightmare.

Not only was he without a first choice keeper, but he had very little time to find one ahead of the League Two visit of York City in March.

However, Ardley knew the man to call in such an emergency, and although his hero was at a service station on his way to watch Bristol Rovers play Exeter City, Simon Bassey was still able to answer his prayers.

The 37-year-old has agreed a new one-year deal to stay at Dons for a 12th year in his capacity as first team coach – however, in a season when loan players were integral to Dons’ survival, it was Bassey’s scouting expertise that has come to the fore.

The former midfielder said: “Since November, I’ve had the time to work on player recruitment. I have created a team of about four people who take in up to 10 games every week, looking at certain players or just getting out there and seeing who is about.

“That’s what happened with John Sullivan. Neal phoned me and said ‘We’ve lost [Neil] Sully, we need a keeper by tomorrow’.

“I said ‘Alright, get John Sullivan from Charlton. He’s available.’ I had seen John play a few times and he matched our way of playing and what we wanted, and so when the time came, his was the name that instantly came to mind.

“If we’d not been out there watching these games, then we would not have known of his existence.” 

Bassey and his team of scouts get tips on players through word of mouth or direct recommendations, or just simply getting out there, but there is a set protocol to be followed before Ardley will watch a prospect.

Bassey, who made 30 appearances for the Dons before injury curtailed his playing career, said: “We have set up a computer database where everything is logged. Every scout gets a form they have to fill in when they go to watch a player.

“Then we put them in the database and monitor them.

“If the time arises when we might need a left-back, for example, we go to the database and look at left-backs – it works like that.

“If we get word of mouth about a right winger, we’ll go and have a look and fill in a report, and, depending on what the report says, we might watch him a couple of times before we talk to Neal about him.

“Chris Arthur was watched three times before Neal went to watch him. He has the final decision, of course, although he has a lot of trust in myself and Neil Cox.

“We have more than 200 names on the database, and I know that Neal has approached some of them before he went on holiday.

“We make an offer, they take it away, have a think and then come back to us, that’s how it works.

“But Neal seemed optimistic about some of them as he’d got good feedback from them.”

Dons have announced a friendly at home to Charlton Athletic on July 17.