FORMER Saints keeper Scott Bevan knows just how Bartosz Bialkowski will still be feeling.

Bialkowski made a high profile blunder against Blackpool in Saints’ last home game on December 10, letting a shot slip through his hands for a goal.

It was his first league game for almost two years – since December 28 2009, when Saints were beaten in a League 2 encounter at Colchester.

Bevan, now at Bristol Rovers, was watching the Saints v Blackpool game on television prior to his club’s game with Swindon.

“I really feel for Bart, he had a really promising start to his career,” Bevan said.

“All my teammates were laughing, saying ‘what is he doing’, when the goal went in, but I know how it feels to make a mistake.”

Bevan also knows what it’s like to have to continually watch other keepers at a club play games.

“It is a tough industry when you are not a part of the team,” he admits.

“It was frustrating for me at Southampton, they were Premier League players and I was just a 20-year old lad.

“Paul Jones and Antti Niemi sometimes took the mickey out of me, but we all got on well and trained together for three hours everyday.

“When I was on the bench I never wished them any mistakes.”

Southampton-born Bevan looks back at his time at Saints wondering what might have been and said: “I had a spell where I was on the bench for a while and I thought I could get in the team, but it wasn’t to be.

“There’s a bigger world out there and I’m glad I’ve managed to become a first team keeper elsewhere.

“I still visit Southampton every month and playing AFC Totton in the FA Cup (earlier this month) bought back great memories of the area.”

Another who knows the problems regular reserve keepers face is London-based sports psychologist Dr Victor Thompson.

He said: “It is very tough for a reserve keeper because you’re not the first choice.

“Unless the number one is out for a long period it is difficult to be on the bench watching another keeper play.”

Saints boss Nigel Adkins defended Bialkowski after his howler, and Dr Thompson added: “Managers have to say the right words, keep the positivity and tell them they believe in the keeper.

“Most managers do a post-mortem and for a goalie they do not have so many good points to look back on if they concede a goal, and managers need to see how a keeper performs under pressure.”