Gareth Ainsworth praised the attitude and performance of Wycombe striker Adebayo Akinfenwa, after the 38-year-old made his first start of the season in the club's 1-1 draw against Watford.

The Beast had knee surgery in the summer and has come on as a substitute in the last two matches for the Chairboys, where he caused the Reading and Norwich backline countless problems.

This was clear to see against the Hornets, as Watford centre-backs Craig Cathcart and Christian Kabasele struggled to contain the former AFC Wimbledon, Gillingham and Northampton Town frontman.

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He had two chances in the first-half, with one flying over the goal, and the other being caught by Ben Foster.

Speaking after the Watford clash, Ainsworth said: “We want teams to come here and have it tough.

“We created numerous chances with the best falling to the big man [Adebayo Akinfenwa] and a couple more weeks training, that is buried in the back of the net.

“I thought he was outstanding tonight - a captain’s performance and I was really proud of him.

“He leads these boys and they followed with everything they’ve got.

“There were some very good performances and now we get them ready for Saturday.”

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On the all-round performance, he said: “We’re here to fight and we’re here to compete in the Championship.

"We’re not here to make the numbers up.

“We’re different – of course we are, but we are here to stay in the Championship and if we keep playing like that, then there is no chance we will go down.

“It was a brilliant performance.”