Following the defeat to Middlesbrough, Gareth Ainsworth was full of admiration towards his counterpart, Neil Warnock.

Both gaffers praised one another before and after the clash on January 2, which saw Boro come from behind to beat the Chairboys 3-1, in the first meeting between the two teams in the league, and the first in any competition since 1998.

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However, Ainsworth had no complaints with the outcome as he admitted that his side were ‘second best’ throughout the contest, despite taking an early lead through Uche Ikpeazu’s wonder goal after three minutes.

Goals from Marcus Browne, Marcus Tavernier and Chuba Akpom saw Boro secure the win.

He said: “We had a couple of chances as one was cleared off the line and the other hit the bar, but, I am not going to say we should have had a different result because Middlesbrough are a good side.

“We were second best in a lot of things: Headers, tackles, and they were a much better ‘us’ today as they are a strong, powerful side and they deserved the win.

“The chances were there in the second-half but we didn’t take them, and at this level, you have got to take your chances.

“We don’t get as many chances as we did in the lower leagues, but there are no complaints as we were second best and we will take it on the chin.”

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On Warnock, he added: “Neil Warnock is a great manager.

“He has been around for a long time, he knows the game well and Middlesbrough were very organised, strong, and they won a lot of battles in the midfield.

“He gave us great respect before the game of what we do, as I think it is similar to what he has done all his managerial career.

“We’re organised, hardworking, and we don’t have the funds to bring in superstars, similar to when he was at Scarborough as well as the other clubs he has managed.

“It is fantastic and to have him say positive things about us is wonderful.

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“We may be bottom of the league but we are scrapping, we’re fighting and I take heart from the Middlesbrough team, as we do that to teams, but we go again.”

Up next for Ainsworth and his team is an FA Cup match against one of his former sides in Preston North End on January 9 at Adams Park.

The two sides met in December where it finished 2-2 at Deepdale.

They last met in the FA Cup in the same round back in January 2018, when North End won 5-1 at Adams Park.

Wycombe winger Daryl Horgan was one of PNE’s goal scorers that day.