THERE was a painful end to the match for Saints midfielder Paul Wotton in more ways the one, writes ADAM LEITCH.

He had his front teeth knocked out in a challenge with Burnley’s Clarke Carlisle which Saints were seething over.

But, rather than deal with it, the referee blew the final whistle, leaving Wotton lying stricken on the St Mary’s turf as fans invaded the pitch.

It was also a painful experience for midfielder Simon Gillett who was expected to miss the rest of the season with a knee injury but made a shock comeback given the severity of Saints’ situation.

“Normally I wouldn’t do it after being out for three or four weeks but I know Simon has a great spirit and a good character and he was terrific in the month that we picked up a lot of points,” said Wotte.

“Together with Paul Wotton they played very good in the midfield but after 70 minutes he was limping and I didn’t want to risk him for another injury for the summer.

“He did what he had to do, but everybody played a very good game.

“You can’t blame the players for not winning.

“You can blame them for making mistakes and not taking chances, but everybody did what they had to do and it’s so unfortunate.

“If you see the last ten months there are five or six or seven games where we really played better than the other team.

“You are hoping for the 2-1, 3-1, 4-1 and suddenly they score and it’s 2-2 and you give away two points.”

Wotte added: “He (Gillett) really wanted to be part of this match for the future of the Saints.

“The likes of Simon Gillett, Adam Lallana, Surman, McGoldrick, Lloyd James were so strong last week and so committed to playing a good game.

“The other players, the more experienced players, did their job quite well.

“I don’t think we deserved to draw this game – we should have won it.”