Nigel Adkins reckons Billy Sharp's match-winning display against Doncaster proved Southampton are not over-reliant on Rickie Lambert.
Boss insists Saints do not rely on Lambert
Southampton manager Nigel Adkins reckons Billy Sharp's match-winning display in the 2-0 win against Doncaster proved his side are not over-reliant on Rickie Lambert.
Sharp scored both goals against his former club to strengthen the hosts' position at the top of the Championship table.
Top scorer Lambert, who has bagged 28 goals this term, was forced off early in the second half with a minor knock.
But Adkins has full confidence in Sharp, who signed from Rovers in January for about £2million, to fill the void.
Tea-leaves
The Saints boss said: "Billy Sharp has scored two really good goals for us and it's a great three points to cap off a very good week.
"It was in the tea-leaves (for Sharp to score). He's worked very, very hard behind the scenes. Since he's joined us, his attitude has been top drawer.
"And the big thing is, here we're not just relying on one person to score the goals. It's 72 league goals we've scored now. We've got some exceptionally good goalscorers and strikers here.
"He (Sharp) has got a proven record in the Championship.
"The burden to score goals isn't just on one individual player.
"Rickie Lambert is leading the goalscoring charts, but it underlines that it's not just about one player."
Haunt
Sharp, broke the deadlock shortly before the hour with a header from Dan Fox's inviting corner.
And he put the game to bed by capitalising on some poor defending from Habib Beye before firing past Carl Ikeme with 15 minutes to go.
The defeat left Doncaster just one point off the bottom of the Championship table and five points from safety.
Rovers boss Dean Saunders was unhappy with referee Danny McDermid.
"The ref cost us the game," he said. "He gave them a corner which was never a corner. They scored from the corner.
"It was a mistake for the second goal.
"It's disappointing we lost points against a top of the league side.
"I think it's typical we sold Sharp to Southampton and then he scores two goals against us. He came back to haunt us."
