Martin Allen was pleased with his players following their 2-0 win over Bristol Rovers on Tuesday night as Barnet maintained their position at the top of the Vanarama Conference.

Speaking after the game, the manager said:

“It was a good performance. I think that they are the bookmakers’ favourites to go straight up, and bookmakers don’t often get it very wrong. I thought we played very well, were very solid, with another clean sheet and a lot of good performances.

“They played some nice football. We do try and play, we try and mix up the games to see if we can get the best out of both ways of playing. We are working on it as we’ve only just come together but two clean sheets, seven goals and six points is a good response so far I’d say.”

The manager was also pleased to see his new signing John Akinde get off the mark with his first goal for the club, and feels that it is just reward for the striker’s efforts since arriving at The Hive:

“Just about every goal that we have scored so far he has assisted, so there has been no pressure or extra intensity from us, but within John’s own heart and his own head he would have been hoping for that goal, and you can see from the way that the rest of his teammates celebrated when he scored how much it means to them as well as him.

“He has played superbly well, he’s a fantastic trainer and I think with full-time training with us and the way that we train it is really going to help him. We are lucky to have him, he’s a very good player.”

Martin also revealed that he is delighted with how the striker’s partnership with captain Charlie MacDonald is shaping up, with the pair netting the crucial goals against Rovers:

“I think they have been superb all the way through. They have got a good combination, they respect each other and they work hard together on the training pitch. They are both honest, they are both conscientious and they are both very, very hungry to do well. I’m delighted with both of them.”