Jan Poortvliet defended his decision to switch to playing three at the back as Saints chased the game against Doncaster.

The Saints head coach saw the decision first questioned by one of his own players as Chris Perry, who made way for the formation change, reacted angrily to the decision.

After the game had ended and Saints had landed up 2-1 losers, many of the fans were also questioning the system change for the final third of the game which the players appeared unable to get to grips with.

But Poortvliet insisted the team had practised it in training if not a match and said: “When you’ve never done it it's difficult but we were 1-0 down and we needed a draw or a win.

“We know ourselves it is not easy to make goals and you make this decision.

“After five minutes we took over the game and it was good to see.

“Chris was not happy but I think it's normal.

“Every pro in the game wants to stay in the battle.”

For full story and more Saints v Doncaster reaction don't miss today's Daily Echo.