GARETH AINSWORTH was pleased and relieved to see his side gain a scrappy 1-0 win over Cheltenham Town, propelling them to fifth in the table and just eight points off the top.

Despite being far from their fluent best, Scott Kashket's magnificent volley on eight minutes was enough to see Wanderers gain their seventh win in eight league games.

The game was played on a difficult pitch at Whaddon Road and Ainsworth saw his side being put under severe pressure towards the end but was proud and how his team found a win to win.

He said: "What pleased me the most tonight about the result was that we were average and won the game.

"Successful teams do that and that was the biggest plus out of this match. Cheltenham made life very tough for us in the second half but we managed to come through that."

With Jamal Blackman injured, Scott Brown came back into the team and the Wycombe manager praised his reserve stopper for his display between the sticks.

"Scott Brown was outstanding for us. To come back in after a long time out of the side and play the way he did was brilliant and he deserves the credit, as do the rest of the backline."

Kashket undoubtedly took the plaudits again with his 13th goal in as many games but Ainsworth was also keen to single out on-loan Southampton midfielder Dominic Gape for yet another fantastic performance.

He commented: "Dominic's performance tonight was outstanding. He has calmness on the ball and tenacity off the ball and he will be an important player for us to keep hold of."

The journey to Cheltenham from Wycombe was a torrid one as fog made visibility very poor all the way from the Chilterns to the Cotswolds but an incredible 871 fans made the trip from Bucks to see their heroes emerge victorious.

Ainsworth was thrilled to see his team so well backed by a raucous followiing and heaped praise on them. He added: "I don't think we would have won that game without them.

"They really got behind us and they kept us going throughout. What a turnout from them and it was truly magnificent support from them so thank you so much."

Next up is a home match against Newport County on Monday, who are rooted to the bottom of League Two.

However, Ainsworth warned against complacency and expects another tough contest. He said: "It will be a tough, tough game against a Graham Westley side who have one day to strengthen so it is a bit of an unknown what is coming Monday but I will be making sure my boys are ready to go."