Nigel Adkins described Rickie Lambert and Gaston Ramirez as “mouthwatering” after the sensational 4-1 win against Aston Villa.

Adkins said: “Rickie and Gaston was a mouthwatering combination. Gaston’s been outstanding since he’s joined us. You could see the players eyes light up at his first training session.

“He’ll run back and chase, he can link up play, he has great movement and is a joy to watch. Rickie gave their centre halves all sorts of problems, we excited out supporters and Maya Yoshida had an outstanding game against the two physical presences that Villa had up front. He was calm and collected all afternoon.

“We showed great character in the second half, we put in a really good performance. Everyone has seen we want to pass the ball. We created opportunities and took opportunities we created.”