NIGEL Adkins defended his decision to include Lee Barnard on the bench for the victory over Tranmere.

After attracting so many headlines over the late night incident that led to his arrest and subsequent bail, and with a strapping on his right hand after emergency surgery, there were plenty of excuses open to Adkins to leave Barnard out of the squad.

But the boss opted to lave him amongst the subs and bring him on for the impressive Guly do Prado in the second period.

Adkins said: “It’s been well documented what happened last weekend.

“You can see he had a strapping on his hand and he had an operation on that one.

“Over the course of the week I’ve had to make sure I’ve prepared the team for this game.

“It was great that Lee was able to train on Thursday evening and again Friday, but I’ve got to make sure we win games of football."

Full story in today's Daily Echo - plus match report of the 2-0 win over Tranmere, pictures and all the reaction to Saints' win.