WHILE teammates higher up the pitch have grabbed the limelight in recent games, John Lundstram has quietly made himself at home in a yellow shirt.

A disrupted pre-season as a free agent meant the 21-year-old has taken time to find form, but steadily his influence has grown.

Key to it has been a partnership with Liam Sercombe which has rapidly clicked into gear.

Lundstram believes the secret has been the way the pair’s natural games dovetail.

He said: “I think we do complement each other very well.

“I love to get the ball off the back four and start attacks off.

“If the other lads want to score it doesn’t really bother me, but I’d love Sercs to go on and get eight to ten goals this season.

“If I get one or two I’d be more than happy.

“Liam’s a top lad, I get on with him off the pitch.

“We’ve got that understanding where he loves to get forward and I love to get on the ball.

“I just say to him ‘go and do what you want and show everyone how good you are’ and I just pick up the pieces.”

Lundstram arrived after learning his trade at Everton which featured a variety of loans which saw him win promotion from League One with Doncaster and feature in the playoff final with Leyton Orient.

But the form of Danny Rose alongside meant he had to be patient.

“When I did get fit it was frustrating to see how well Rosey and Sercs were doing – I was thinking ‘am I going to get in this team?’ “In training every day there’s a very high standard and we’re taking that into games.

“I think all the lads will have said to you many times how good the bunch is and every football team says that, but honest to God it’s different class.

“There’s no cliques or anything, we’re all together and I think it shows on the pitch.”

United are likely to need Lundstram’s passing range tomorrow, when AFC Wimbledon visit in Sky Bet League Two.

It is the first league game at the Kassam Stadium since a frustrating goalless draw against Morecambe.

The draw was not the first game this season where a side sat deep in a bid to thwart Michael Appleton’s men and Lundstram is expecting Wimbledon to pose a similar puzzle.

He said: “We know we can go into the game and win, but they are going to make it a really tough game.

“We know exactly what type of team Wimbledon are and I would imagine they’re going to try and come and spoil it.”