The former goalkeeping coach took over as caretaker boss towards the end of last season after Terry Burton's departure.

His reign in charge saw the Dons win four out of six games in Division One.

Murdoch, who coached at Watford before moving to Wimbledon in 1996, admitted that he is surprised but delighted that Dons chairman Charles Koppel chose to appoint him.

"I'm thrilled to be given this opportunity, it's something that I wasn't expecting," Murdoch told Wimbledon's official website.

"From the end of the season and the time that Terry Burton left I've met with the chairman regularly and discussed the position.

"At one stage the chairman said he was looking for someone with experience.

"I joked that my six games should be enough, but he didn't really comment at that stage and I'm really thankful to him for giving me this chance."

Koppel said that in light of the club's pending move to Milton Keynes he was eager to maintain continuity and stability.

He said: "Originally we were looking for a manager with a proven track record, and we had a lot of interest from managers at all levels of the game.

"The club is going through a period of change and we felt it was important for the players and staff to have continuity.

"Stuart has proven that he can step up to the mark as a manager."

"We believe Stuart can do a good job, he's made it clear from day one that he would relish the opportunity to manage the club and he's worked hard to put himself in contention."

Murdoch is well aware that it is a big step up from goalkeeping coach to manager but he insists that his experience last season will stand him in good stead.

He added: "We won four out of six when I did the job last season, but one was a 6-2 hammering at Grimsby, so I learned a lot in that time and I really enjoyed it.

"I've worked with the likes of Peter Taylor, Peter Shreeves, Glenn Roeder, Steve Harrison and then Terry Burton, and hopefully I've picked up a little bit from them all."

"But we've got a good squad here with a lot of talented youngsters.

"We proved how good we are by the way we played towards the end of last season.

"The players are back on 1 July and I'm really looking forward to the pre-season."