Saints chief cagey over hitman omission

Nigel Adkins refused to lift the lid on why Rickie Lambert started Saturday's defeat at West Ham on Southampton's substitutes' bench.

The decision to leave out the Saints' striker, whose goals helped the side win promotion last term and already has four goals from six starts in the Premier League this season, was called into question following the 4-1 reverse. While Adkins insists he is still very much a big fan of Lambert, he would not give a concrete reason behind the striker's omission at Upton Park. He said: "Rickie Lambert has been phenomenal and outstanding for Southampton. I love the bones on him. "I have to make a decision that I believe is right at the time. Everyone would pick a different team and different formation." Meanwhile, Adkins also insisted that he will not detract from his usual playing style, despite the disappointing start to the campaign. He added: "There's a brand of football the club wants to play, but you've got to win. "We want to pass the football quickly and calmly. We've done that consistently over the last two seasons and scored a lot of goals. "At this level we're getting found out and conceding far too many which, ultimately, is losing us games."