Barnet striker John Akinde was delighted to help the Bees maintain their winning start to the season on Tuesday night, scoring the first in the 2-0 victory over Bristol Rovers at The Hive.

Speaking after the game, Ainde said that he was happy with the result and believes that the signs are looking good for the rest of the season:

“It was great to get another win. Bristol Rovers are strong team; I think they’re tipped for promotion so it’s good to get a win against a strong team as well.

“We’ve got to be able to adapt to any style. We need to be able to play nasty and play pretty, and I think we did both of those things tonight. It’s good to have that in your locker as a team.

“I think the boys looked strong, I don’t think we looked like we were going to concede at the back. We defended so well tonight and they’ve got to take credit as well. Hopefully if they keep defending like that and we keep scoring, it looks good.”

Barnet’s summer signing also admitted that he was pleased to have opened his account for the club, and now hopes to continue in the same vein for the rest of the campaign along with strike partner Charlie MacDonald:

“I want to score as many goals as possible so it’s great to get off the mark early. Hopefully that is just the first of many.

“I’ve played with Charlie before and in training it is just working well at the moment and I’m sure that is going to continue and get even better.”

Akinde, who scored 18 times for Alfreton in the Conference last season, also revealed that he is really feeling the benefits of returning to full-time football with Barnet

“I feel sharper in the games, I feel fitter and I feel stronger. It’s made a massive difference.

“We’re training every day and I feel good. All the boys feel good, look good and feel fit, so I’m really excited for the season.”

Although admitting that it feels good to be top of the table so early on, the Bees’ number nine is not getting carried away and insists that the whole squad is now fully focused on maintaining their early season form in order to achieve their ultimate goal:

“I believe we are still top of the league which is a good feeling so hopefully we can keep these performances up and get promoted.

“It’s a good feeling but it’s only two games in, so we’ve got to keep performing over the next 40-odd games and see where we go from there. But if we keep performing like that then I’m sure we’ll do very well.

“It’s looking good, everyone’s buzzing and we want to just keep performing this way.”