Saints boss George Burley is resigned to losing forward Kenwyne Jones after yesterday's 3-2 win over Stoke.

Burley said last week that Jones - a transfer target for Derby and Sunderland - no longer wanted to play for the club, and it was no surprise to see the Trinidad and Tobago international omitted from the 16-man matchday squad.

Burley said: "We move on. It is a shame, but when you have a player who is excellent in this division, Premier League clubs will be interested.

"That is life. We lost Gareth Bale and Chris Baird during the summer, and we will see what happens in the next week or so.

"It is not getting any easier. I do not want to lose Kenwyne, but the scenario is what it is.

"You do not want to have to sell your best players, but sometimes other issues take these things out of your hands".

Burley will draw some consolation from his team's fine performance as they registered their first points of the season after two successive losses.

Former Saints forward Ricardo Fuller had given Stoke a 10th-minute lead, but Andrew Surman levelled before half-time, and second-half strikes from Grzegorz Rasiak and Jhon Viafara put Burley's team in command.

Substitute Jon Parkin pulled a goal back for Stoke eight minutes from full-time, but Saints were not to be denied.

"It has been a difficult time for the club during the last couple of months, but I feel we are turning the corner," Burley continued.

"What I saw today was encouraging for the future".

Stoke manager Tony Pulis admitted the result had been a fair one - even though Saints were indebted to Kelvin Davis for two superb saves just after half-time to keep them level.

Headers from Jody Craddock and Mamady Sidibe were repelled by Davis, but Pulis accepted his team had got what they deserved.

"I have no complaints," Pulis said. "I was pleased that the players kept going so well".

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