Wycombe Wanderers boss Gareth Ainsworth has admitted that he was ‘worried’ that his side’s momentum would drop before their 2-1 win over Burton Albion on December 7.

The Chairboys had the previous weekend (December 4/5) off following their elimination from this season’s FA Cup.

This meant that after their 2-2 draw against Sheffield Wednesday on November 27, Wanderers didn’t play for 10 days.

Prior to their mini break, Wycombe were on a good run of form where they had taken 10 points from 12 and were third in the table, joint top with Rotherham United and Wigan Athletic respectively.

READ MORE: Gareth Ainsworth reveals why Anthony Stewart and Ryan Tafazolli missed Wycombe's win over Burton

However, after defeating the Brewers with first-half goals from Brandon Hanlan and Garath McCleary, Wycombe are now in the automatic promotion places in League One.

Ainsworth said: “You always worry after a 10 day break, and I won’t lie, I think the lads had a bit of a Christmas drink after the Sheffield Wednesday game, so you always worry after that.

“However, there is a huge difference in the Christmas parties to now from when I was a player, thank goodness, and the boys are all professional athletes.

“They know what they need to do and they know what they need to be and they have come back really strong.

The boss was also full of praise for Garath McCleary who bagged his sixth goal of the season in the win against Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink’s men.

READ MORE: 'The stuff we've been working on came to fruition' - Ainsworth's analysis after Wycombe beat Burton

He added: “Garath McCleary is evergreen and he’s got plenty left.

“I wasn’t even at Wycombe at 34 – I signed aged 36, so for me, that 35 mark now is something from the past.

“If you look after yourself you can go for a lot longer, especially in the bottom two divisions and Garath is proof that the age thing is a myth.”

All of McCleary’s goals this season have been scored at Adams Park.