Nigel Adkins was in understandably buoyant mood after seeing Saints fight back to secure a vital 3-2 win over MK Dons.

There is so little room for manoeuvre at the top of the table as Saints chase automatic promotion that they cannot afford slip-ups, particularly at St Mary’s.

Things were not looking good when they fell 2-0 down but three goals in 11 minutes turned the game around and put them back on track to overhaul Huddersfield for a second place finish.

Adkins said: “We’ve just got to keep chipping away at it.

“We said the last ten games were going to get nail biting, going to get tense, and it certainly did.

“I thought we started the game ever so well but it wasn’t quite working for us.

“We spoke about it at half time and thought we’d give it a little bit longer but they got a deflected goal which made it more challenging but the supporters stayed with us and when Jonathan (Forte) scored that goal they got so behind them and it made such a difference.

“Thank you for sticking with the team and getting behind them when they really needed it.”