Walking into a half-built Plough Lane, the hairs on the back of Xavier Wiggins’ neck stood up.

As a lifelong Wimbledon supporter, who had witnessed their ups and downs, the idea of playing in the club’s spiritual home next season was enough to bring him close to tears.

“I don’t really wear sunglasses much,” says Wiggins. “But I think I will need them whatever the weather is when we first play here. It will be hugely ­emotional.”

Back in December, however, Wiggins was up in arms as news of the club’s £11million shortfall to complete the construction of the 9,000-seat Plough Lane was laid bare to him and other members of the Dons Trust — the fan group who own the League One club.

In a special general meeting called for December 9, it was explained how outside investors had proposed to come on-board to help, offering £7.5m for a 30 per cent in the stake. That would see the Trust surrender control of the club they had helped rise from the ashes around the turn of the century. Something had to be done.

“It actually all started at that meeting in December,” says Wiggins.

“We got together through phone calls and WhatsApps, and suddenly three of us — myself, Damian Woodward and Charlie Talbot — began forming this idea of creating a bond.

“There was quite a lot of anger around but we had tunnel vision from the beginning. Some were saying we need to take outside investment, which actually means outside control. We were like, but that’s the everything about who we are ripped up.”

Working with the club and the Dons Trust, Talbot, Wiggins and Woodward created the Plough Lane Bond — which was launched on Wednesday to the wider public at an event in London.

So far it has targeted Wimbledon fans in an attempt to raise £5m to help with the funding shortfall on the stadium, with bond owners offered annual returns of up to four per cent over five, 10 or 20 year terms on their investment.

As of Tuesday night, the total raised had reached £2m — a quite remarkable sum when one considers such a scheme was simply the brainchild of three fans.

“I don’t really have financial nous, but there are plenty of people who do,” says Wiggins, who works in property.

“We called in help from the fan base and people who are very experienced with bonds and structuring them, people experienced in football finance.

“Once you rattle that cage you realise how much experience there is in a fan base. We have got Lords and Ladies, FTSE directors and this is why other clubs need to look around.”

Wiggins hopes the club can become an example to others who find themselves on the brink of extinction.

“We just spent our lives fighting against what turned out to be outside owners, who didn’t buy into our ethos,” says Wiggins.

“We must never let that happen but more importantly we must show the football world how important it is to control your destiny because you just never know. I really hope that out of all of this we are a positive example for the rest of football. With the Boltons, Burys and Macclesfields happening, we are in a very tricky time.

“I am a lunatic, I believe passionately that this is not just about football and I am sorry for the cliche but this is a victory for the small man. If you pull together as a fan base, with ownership of that football club, with control of that club, look what can be done.”

The work is not yet done for Wiggins and Wimbledon. They need this bond to generate at least another £3m by February 14, so the club can raise the rest of the money from a commercial lender before the end of the month.

It is a tall order, but one that just sums up how this club have always been fighting.

“Not so long ago I can remember standing on straw bails at Sandhurst in our first game in the Combined Counties League,” says Wiggins.

“We had scaffolders and others with day jobs who were exhausted but begging for time off work just so they could play for Wimbledon.

“And do you know what is mad? We weren’t even the biggest budget back then, we weren’t even in the biggest side.

“We had Withdean 2000 — they don’t exist any more — and AFC Wallingford. They had more than us.

“But we worked really hard and we battled against the odds. Over the last few decades we have done that, we are known for it and it is in our DNA.

“We need to celebrate that DNA and keep fighting now.”

For more information about the Plough Lane Bond visit ploughlanebond.com