This week, AFC Wimbledon was knocked out of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy by League One leaders Bristol City.

The result, while not wholly unexpected, was deeply disappointing.

The loss ended whatever realistic hopes we had of lifting silverware this season.

We’re still in the FA Cup - for the next few days at least - but the measure of cup success is reaching the third round. Wembley doesn’t beckon for us.

AFC Wimbledon: Ardley’s away day blues stretch out into the FA Cup horizon

Meanwhile, a recent dip in form (five points from the last five games) has left the Dons mired once again in the lower half of the table.

We are currently 17th - albeit comfortably out of the relegation zone - with the promotion places drifting further out of sight.

This used to be a team that won things. This used to be a team that earned promotion.

Yes, it was non-League, and anyone who thinks competing in the Conference or the Isthmian on a shoestring budget is easy is sadly deluded.

Wimbledon Times:

Winning things: It used to be the AFC Wimbledon way

There are legitimate, defensible arguments for stability and managed expectations. Stay in the Football League. Focus on going back home to Merton.

Keep the club in the hands of the community, of the fans who well and truly love it. I cannot, and will not, argue against those points.

But football is about more than pragmatism. If we wanted to invest our time and our hearts in something sensible, our terrace banter would revolve around capital investment risk.

The story of football in Wimbledon is the story of hard-won glory. It is the story of winning things we had no right to. It is the story of being told we can’t do something, and then doing it.

So what’s the best way to stay in the Football League? Making sure we put an entire division between us and the Conference.