When Josh Scowen and Paris Cowan-Hall departed Adams Park in January Wanderers fans feared that the club’s push for promotion would fade away.

Three months on Wycombe are still going strong in the promotion spots, much to the surprise of the manager who nurtured their talents before Barnsley and Millwall swooped for the club’s prized assets.

“Of course I’m surprised. We set out to get 55 points that was the aim, so it’s been a successful season for me so far,” said Gareth Ainsworth.

“Being able to sell two young players on and see them flourish in their new clubs – Josh definitely, Paris will have plenty to come – makes me a proud manager.”

The Blues boss added that the sales of Cowan-Hall and Scowen were a “reality check” for everyone involved with the club and that they’re not a team that can afford to hold onto their best players.

He said: “We need money, we still need money, just because we’re third in the league doesn’t mean you magically start getting money from everywhere.

“We are in financial difficulty still, and after losing the rugby having to lose those players helped fill big gaps for us. The fans do see the football only and feel that we could have fallen away but we could have fallen away a lot bigger in previous seasons.”

Marcus Bean, Fred Onyedinma, Nico Yennaris and Sam Saunders have helped fill the void left by the January departures as Wanderers continue to compete at the top end of the table.

Sam Wood said: “They’re fantastic players. They did a lot for us with Paris and his goals and the way Josh plays.

“I think we’ve adapted well, we’ve bought some players in to cover those positions and it’s paid off.

“Fred’s been scoring goals, Beanie as well and now Sam and Nico so it’s been a massive boost for us. They were massive losses but we’ve had some decent players come in and it’s paid off.”