Millwall manager Gary Rowett was especially disappointed with his side’s 1-0 defeat at home to Bristol City as it came on the day the club paid tribute to late chairman John Berylson.

This was the Lions’ first home league match of the season and those in attendance paid their respects to American Berylson, who died in July aged 70 having taken over the club in 2007.

The home side proudly wore T-shirts with Berylson’s face printed on the front during their warm-up, while American flags were unfurled in the Dockers Stand and wreaths were laid behind each goal by the captains.

On the pitch, though, Matty James’ strike four minutes into stoppage time ensured it was the Robins who came away with all three points, with Rowett upset that the team could not produce a performance to match the occasion.

He said: “The tribute to John was absolutely wonderful. His family being here was all the more special. The minute’s applause was immaculately done by both sets of fans. The atmosphere was brilliant.

“It’s particularly disappointing because – I’m a manager, you feel responsible – John’s family were here and you want them to have a positive experience at a game like this.

“We lacked energy, a little bit of spark. I thought it was a nothing game. It was a game that looked destined to fizzle out.

“We didn’t play with enough zip, energy, we are at home and have to make the running, get on the front foot. At times it felt soft, we haven’t really put our marker on the game physically.

“I expect the players to drive it a little bit more on the pitch – I think at times we need to show more determination. I felt we were waiting to show quality. I thought we were a little bit wasteful on the ball.

“We’ll have to lick our wounds.”

Bristol City had to wait until the final stages to break the deadlock, but came away with three points in their first game since selling Alex Scott to Bournemouth.

It was fitting that his midfield partner James was the man to clinch all three points, finding the bottom corner after a long throw-in.

But while that goal was fairly direct, manager Nigel Pearson explained that the plan had been to make Millwall run as much as possible.

“We are a side that are capable of out-running teams,” Pearson said. “We wanted this to be a running game. Their three centre-backs are not as mobile as our forwards. We wanted to stretch them.

“Our energy levels were great. I thought we were always dangerous. What gets results like this is the psychological aspects of dealing with situations.

“We dealt with their set plays well. That hasn’t always been the case for us. We’ve worked hard over the last two seasons to put that right.

“We have to be consistently good. That’s where the growth of the side will be measured this season.

“We dealt with what is an important occasion for Millwall – it’s important to be a part of that and show respect but be professional too.

“I thought we were positive from the start until the end. I think we thoroughly deserved to win the game. It’s a tough place to come. We were quite accomplished.”

Southampton manager Russell Martin admitted his side were too nervous after being bailed out by a 97th-minute equaliser to draw 4-4 against Norwich.

Adam Armstrong smashed in the last-gasp penalty to end a thriller at St Mary’s – which had seen the Canaries lead three times.

But Martin, in his first appearance in the home dugout on the south coast, was frustrated with the hangover from Premier League relegation.

“It was a fair result for both teams,” admitted Martin. “I would have been really upset if we had lost and really gutted for the supporters and players.

“It was a good advertisement for the Championship. It was entertaining. I don’t think either keeper did much wrong – it is madness they both conceded four goals.

“It was a strange and crazy game and I hope we don’t have many like that.

“There were too many moments that we wouldn’t have wanted. We gave them too many moments.

“I’m angry and annoyed at conceding four goals but on the other hand I’m proud about the team’s character and being so dominant in some parts.

“We had 31 shots which is a lot so there is plenty to be proud of but still be annoyed.

“It is the first time back this season and after last year there was too much nervousness.”

There were five goals in a crazy first half, which included three goals in 344 seconds, starting with Josh Sargent’s back-post header in the seventh minute.

Southampton burst back into the match and led after Jan Bednarek collected a rebound to score his first goal since April 2022, and Armstrong converted his first penalty of the match after Shane Duffy’s handball.

Gabriel Sara and Jon Rowe both netted to give the visitors the advantage again, only for substitute Che Adams to rifle in a fine finish into the bottom corner.

Christian Fassnacht thought he had won it six minutes from time after capitalising on Ryan Manning’s miskick but Armstrong ended the helter-skelter match from the spot, after Kyle Walker-Peters had been shoved by Dimitris Giannoulis.

Norwich boss David Wagner said: “No [it wasn’t naive to concede a late penalty], under pressure and away from home those situations can happen. I thought the players worked really hard but there was a lack of concentration at the end of the game that must not happen.

“We weren’t super clinical but we still scored four goals!

“Today it was entertaining. I think you have seen two quality sides early in the season when both teams want a win. I am happy about how brave the players were but I’ve seen we have a lot of work to do.”

Leigh Leopards hero Lachlan Lam revealed he entered unknown territory when he let fly with the drop-goal that sealed his side’s historic Betfred Challenge Cup final win over Hull KR at Wembley.

Lam was set up by team-mate Gareth O’Brien, who minutes earlier had missed his own glaring opportunity to clinch the winner in golden point extra time, and duly converted for the first time in his career.

“It was my first pro field goal, and it felt like I had a lot of time when I kicked it,” said Lam, one of the stand-outs of the season who added the prestigious Lance Todd Trophy for his man of the match display in Leigh’s 17-16 win.

“We’ve done a lot of work on it in the last few months because you know you’re going to be in that position at some stage,” added Lam. “Gaz missed the first one and had the trust to throw it back to me to take that kick.

“I dropped it a little bit on the angle but halfway towards the posts I knew it was going over. It happened really quickly. I went to celebrate and all of a sudden I was on my back.”

Leigh’s win, which continued an astonishing first season back among the top flight, was fashioned in the most dramatic of circumstances after Matt Parcell helped haul Rovers level with 80 seconds left of normal time.

After O’Brien missed the first chance to win it, the usually dependable Brad Schneider came up short for Hull KR with a rash long-ranger and gave Lam, the son of Leopards head coach Adrian, the chance to seal a fairytale title.

The pride was etched on the face of father Adrian, the architect of Leigh’s amazing campaign, who said: “It’s just incredible to talk about how this has happened.

“This time last year we were coming in to prepare for the (1895 Cup) final. How that’s gone around in the last 12 months, it’s an incredible story for rugby league for us even to be here.

“I don’t just want to make it about Lachlan but it was a special moment. I’ve thought this week how lucky I am having him playing here for my team and doing well.

“It was just a really weird moment when he went to take the field goal, the ball was thrown back to him and I thought, he’s going to win us the game here.

“I’ve coached him since he was six so what went through my mind was knowing how many times we’d been in the opposite position and been left heartbroken, so that was a bit of serendipity.”

Rovers boss Willie Peters hoped his side had the momentum following their late fightback but admitted a botched extra period cost them dear.

Instead of the ice-cool way in which they sank Wigan in similar circumstances in the semi-final, Rovers coughed up an early error then Schneider’s snatched effort failed to find touch.

“I thought our luck had changed and we had got the momentum,” said Peters. “But we’ve got to learn our lessons and Leigh showed us how to play in golden point, we took six carries and went for a long-distance field goal.

“We didn’t handle golden point very well but I’m very proud of the players. We just hung in there and it proves the fight and character of this team to keep going to the end there and lock it up.

“We had our chances so it’s really hard to take. We will have a good little break now but we have always come back and responded, and on Friday when we go to St Helens, if we want to be flat and complacent we’re in for a long night.”

QPR boss Gareth Ainsworth revealed that he told Sinclair Armstrong he would score his first goal for the club before the young Irish striker came up trumps in a 2-1 win at Cardiff.

The 20-year-old Armstrong opened his Rangers account before charging clear to set up Kenneth Paal’s second-half clincher, with Ike Ugbo’s open-goal finish nothing more than a consolation for Cardiff.

“I told Sinclair in the hotel this morning that he was going to score his first goal and the beaming smile on his face gave me confidence, never mind him,” said Ainsworth.

“He’s a man of few words. He just said: ‘Cheers gaffer’. He told me after the game: ‘You were right gaffer’.

“He’s a work in progress but I believe we’ve got a real diamond. He’s young and come out of a lower level in Ireland.

“He’s not had enough games in the Championship yet, but he will get there and he’s like a 100 metres sprinter.

“He’s the quickest player I’ve ever worked with and is going to cause serious problems for defences.”

Ainsworth’s position has come under scrutiny after failing to stop QPR’s slide following his move from Wycombe in February.

QPR narrowly avoided relegation from the Sky Bet Championship last season and lost 4-0 at Watford on the opening day of this campaign after conceding four first-half goals.

“I didn’t give them the best chance of being successful (at Watford) and it’s been a big week – and a big day – for me,” said Ainsworth.

“I thought ‘how do I get the best out of the players I’ve got?’ rather than thinking what’s got me success over the last 10 years.

“This is new now, it’s not what I’ve had, and we had to change.

“There is going to be some pain before we get better, but I can see the start now and I want to build.”

There was plenty of excitement around Cardiff with Aaron Ramsey, having returned to the club in the summer, making his first appearance at home since 2011.

But new Cardiff manager Erol Bulut said: “Many players were nervous – I don’t understand why. Maybe it is the first game in front of our fans. But that is not a reason to be nervous.

“We created enough to at least score a second goal and get a point. But two individual mistakes in the game meant the opponents led 2-0 and it’s not easy to come back to draw from there.

“We have to keep working on our mistakes. Also some players have to be much more active.

“From some players, it’s not enough. They have to give a better performance.

“Many players still have in their heads the last two years, how the Championship was for them.

“I try to push it out of them, to believe in themselves and focus on our target.”

Valerin Ismael shrugged off Watford’s wastefulness in front of goal in the goalless draw against Plymouth at Vicarage Road and accentuated the positives from their performance.

His side managed just three efforts on target from 20 attempts on goals, with striker Vakoun Bayo especially profligate.

Bayo struck shots wide in both halves as Watford dominated a Plymouth side that were always dangerous on the counter-attack.

“I am really pleased with the performance. We said yesterday that it is important that we put these performances in with consistency and with the right mentality. We saw that again today,” Ismael said.

“But we were not ruthless enough. We put ourselves in great positions and we played some great football, but when you miss opportunities, you keep your opponent in the game and they think that they can maybe get more than one point.

“I think we are on the right path. I am a winner, it is clear, but as long as you show the right attitude, you cannot win every game. As long as the players are brave, I will accept mistakes.

“We don’t say don’t worry about it, and I know that Bayo is disappointed that he didn’t get a goal, but it’s important that you create chances. He worked hard and I’m sure he will get better when he gets his fitness.”

Ismael embodied the bravery he demands from his players when he made a quadruple substitution after 56 minutes.

He added: “With the four substitutes we got exactly what we wanted. We wanted to keep up the pressure because at the end of first half, our energy wasn’t at the same level especially with our press.

“We wanted to keep up the intensity and it worked. We created so many chances in the second half, but when you are on top, you have to score.”

Plymouth manager Steven Schumacher was delighted by his side’s performance, particularly the determination of central defensive pairing Dan Scarr and Lewis Gibson.

Schumacher said: “The whole team worked really hard to get a deserved clean sheet and that’s what it’s going to be. We’re not going to be able to come into the Championship and coast through games.

“Dan and Lewis were superb whenever Watford managed to get behind us and get crosses in.

“I thought it was a really good game as nil-nils go, really entertaining. Two teams who did absolutely everything to get the three points.

“We knew Watford would come in full of confidence, so we had to get our organisation right behind the ball, but we also posed a threat on the counter-attack.

“I said to the lads at half-time that we could score and cause a massive upset. We had the chances to score. It wasn’t to be but it’s still very pleasing to have four points after two games.”

Schumacher’s satisfaction was all the greater given Argyle’s travel issues on the eve of the game.

He added: “Getting out of Devon in August is a disaster, so we decided to take the train, but an earlier train was cancelled.

“That meant there were no seat reservations and our players had to sit on the floor or stand up for three-and-a-half hours. The kit man came on the bus and it took him eight hours. The players could have used that as an excuse, but they didn’t.”

Cambridge manager Mark Bonner singled out the “outstanding” performance of Gassan Ahadme following their 2-0 victory over Fleetwood.

The U’s, who only avoided the drop on the final day last season, made it two wins from two with goals from new signing Ahadme and stalwart Paul Digby the difference.

“Gassan Ahadme has started brilliantly, two in two and his performances have been outstanding,” Bonner said.

“He’s showing people exactly why we wanted him here for a few years. Our test for him is to see how consistent he can be at that level.

“It will be a tough ask but he really does set the tempo for us.

“It was a brilliant performance from Paul Digby, he deserved the goal. He made really hard runs to catch up with attacks and to come back and defend.”

Despite the professional performance, The U’s boss is still not getting ahead of himself and continues to demand more from his players.

“We were a threat all afternoon, defended well when we had to and thought we might have actually done better in terms of our goal return.

“To go in ahead was great but we were probably a bit frustrated we didn’t go in further ahead.

“We defended well in the second half. We’ve been working on set plays a lot and they’re going to be big for us this year as long as we capitalise on them.

“We did and it put us in a good position with a half hour left to be in control of the game to some extent. So we put ourselves in a really strong position.”

On the other hand hosts Fleetwood rarely looked threatening, and manager Scott Brown admitted they needed to go back to what they do best in order to keep clean sheets.

Brown said: “Disappointed obviously with the result. I take full responsibility for that one, what we’ve worked on in pre-season didn’t come off so we need to get back to doing what we do best.

“It’s being that horrible team doing what we do best and keeping clean sheets, making us hard to play through.

“We were maybe a little bit open today and the game plan probably wasn’t followed through as well as we possibly could do.

“I think the first 13, 14 minutes we controlled the game well and then we started to mix and match.

“Listen as I say, I’ve got to take this one on the head. The lads have given us a lot in pre-season but now we need to bounce back and they’ll be a lot of changes that’s for sure.

“We need to make sure we win games, we win our battles, we win individual battles, we’re first to the ball and today we weren’t that.”

West Brom head coach Carlos Corberan accepted his side had to suffer as they held on to beat Swansea 3-2 at The Hawthorns.

The Baggies appeared to be cruising towards a first three points of the new Sky Bet Championship season after Semi Ajayi, a Carl Rushworth own goal and a John Swift penalty put them 3-0 up just after the hour.

However, Swansea fought back with late goals from Harry Darling and Nathan Wood after Jerry Yates hit the bar gave the Baggies a mighty scare.

“We won a game by suffering without managing it the way we needed to do,” Corberan said.

“The best thing of course was the result and the worst thing was that we suffered more than we had to suffer during one part of the game.

“Two things happened – firstly they started to play 4-3-1-2 and had quality players in the middle of the pitch, then they switched to 5-3-2.

“Secondly, when they changed, they didn’t create chances from open play, but they started to create set-pieces and actions from those.

“We were not on it from those set-pieces and conceded two goals and a lot of chances that put the result at a lot of risk.”

Corberan believes he needs to persevere with playing three central defenders because he is convinced the team needs the extra protection.

“I need to make the team grow from the solidity in defence,” he said.

“But we have conceded in every game we have played so far – four goals – and for me it’s important to stop this.

“It’s important for us to have one defender more (three at the back) because it can help you recover the solidity.”

West Brom’s early dominance was rewarded with an 18th-minute lead.

A long throw-in by Darnell Furlong was flicked on and Conor Townsend nodded it back across the box for Ajayi to volley home from six yards.

Another set-piece gave Albion their second goal in the 50th minute.

Swift’s corner was met by a flick by Furlong and after it struck a defender, Rushworth made a hash of twice trying to catch the ball before it squirmed through his grasp and over the line.

West Brom’s third goal came after Darling fouled Townsend for a clear penalty and Swift calmly beat Rushworth from the spot.

Swansea started an unlikely recovery when Darling nodded in Charlie Patino’s corner with 15 minutes left and Wood’s towering header set up a tense finish for the hosts.

Swansea head coach Michael Duff admitted his side had just left it too late.

“It was frustrating because we waited until we were 3-0 down before we started playing with any purpose,” he said.

“We were too slow and too passive in the first half and never played with any intensity – balls coming into our box, they headed them, we didn’t.

“We went 3-0 down and it kicked us into life. We started heading those balls because we were angry and we started moving the ball quicker and with intensity and purpose, then we looked like a good team.”

Rob Edwards admits Luton must quickly improve after their Premier League debut ended in a thumping 4-1 defeat at Brighton.

Just nine years on from being a non-league side, the newly-promoted Hatters were taught a punishing lesson on their first return to top-flight action since relegation from the old First Division in 1992.

Carlton Morris’ 81st-minute penalty gave Town hope of snatching something at the Amex Stadium after Joao Pedro’s spot-kick added to Solly March’s first-half header.

But, despite some encouraging signs, they were second best on the south coast and ultimately suffered a resounding loss following late finishes from Seagulls substitutes Simon Adingra and Evan Ferguson.

“We have to do it our way,” said manager Edwards. “We have got a plan, we’ve had that over the last decade or so and had a lot of success.

“We’re now going into what’s probably going to be the biggest challenge the club’s had. We know the scale of the challenge. We’re going to have some tough days.

“I don’t want anyone to be happy about losing football matches – we’re certainly not.

“I was pleased with stuff I saw today. I know we’re going to get better. But we’ve got to get better quickly.”

March nodded the hosts ahead nine minutes before the break before Brighton’s £30million record signing Pedro slotted home from 12 yards, having been brought down by Luton captain Tom Lockyer.

Morris’ successful spot-kick, after Jacob Brown’s cross struck the elbow of Lewis Dunk, looked to have set up a tense finale.

But an inexplicable error from Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu allowed Albion debutant Adingra to swiftly restore the hosts’ two-goal advantage before fellow substitute Ferguson added another deep into stoppage time.

Edwards, who felt both penalty decisions were “harsh”, was left to rue his side’s mistakes.

“I thought we were right in the game at 1-0 and at 2-1 but we shot ourselves in the foot,” he said.

“We made a couple of clear errors in the build up to the third goal and we got punished and at this level you do get punished.

“It shows the ruthless nature of the league.”

Brighton set aside Moises Caicedo’s ongoing transfer saga to launch their first campaign to feature European football in commanding fashion.

Build up to the contest was dominated by news of Albion accepting a British record transfer fee of around £111million from Liverpool for the absent Ecuador midfielder amid reports he would prefer to join Chelsea.

Seagulls boss Roberto De Zerbi, who handed debuts to James Milner and Mahmoud Dahoud, in addition to goalscorers Pedro and Adingra, also lost Alexis Mac Allister to Liverpool during the summer, while Levi Colwill returned to parent club Chelsea.

The Italian warned it will take his team time to hit the heights of last season, which brought a club-record sixth-placed finish, and does not view Dahoud as a direct replacement for Caicedo.

“Dahoud is a great player for us because he’s specific for our idea of football, for our style of play,” he said.

“But we lost different characteristics because Dahoud is different from Moises Caicedo.

“We played well, not one of the best games in my time, but we need much time to reach the same level, the same quality of play of last season.

“We won a very tough game. I’m really pleased.”

Stevenage boss Steve Evans is hoping to use doubters as motivation after seeing his side defeat Shrewsbury 2-0 at the Lamex.

In Boro’s first home game in League One since 2014, new signing Aaron Pressley struck his first goal for the club with a sweeping finish before Jamie Reid secured the three points in the 87th minute when he poked home at the back post.

But Evans did not let himself get carried away after a second straight league win.

“Our mission is really tough,” said Evans. “I heard one of the Shrewsbury lads say to one of my staff, ‘Good luck staying up’.

“That’s probably where people see us in the league. So we have that as a bit of an incentive for ourselves.

“We have to be, if nothing else, the hardest working team in this league, because we can’t spend the money that Shrewsbury spent, for example.”

Having already welcomed a host of fresh faces, with six new arrivals in the starting 11 against the Shrews, Evans said he expects to announce another signing imminently.

“We’ve got players really battling hard to cement a starting place. I said to them we’ll hopefully strengthen in the next 24 hours,” he said.

“I’ve been asking his manager all summer if we can get him and when I spoke to him yesterday, he was like most of the lads we’ve already got in the door.

“He said, ‘I want to come, I want to be part of it. When can I sign?’.”

Meanwhile, new Shrewsbury boss Matt Taylor questioned whether an already busy schedule contributed to a below-par performance in Hertfordshire.

The Shrews travelled to Elland Road on Wednesday evening, where a spirited performance was not enough to prevent a 2-1 loss to Leeds.

Taylor said: “Was there the fact that the players haven’t had a day off this week? They’ve trained, they’re tired? Maybe.

“I’m not looking for excuses. I’m just telling you the truth. We’ve had a tough week in terms of fixtures. Has that had something to do with it? I don’t know.”

And while Taylor felt it was important to analyse what went wrong, the 41-year-old was equally determined to make amends against Burton on Tuesday.

“I think it’s important to go back and digest without emotion what happened today,” said Taylor.

“But I felt we never really got going in terms of the way I want the team to play and the way we have been playing for the last two games.

“But why football is such a great game is that regardless of the result, we’ve got an opportunity in three days’ time to make sure we can put that right.”

Liam Rosenior believes Ozan Tufan is reaping the rewards his efforts deserve after his hat-trick helped Hull to a 4-2 Championship comeback win at home to Sheffield Wednesday.

The Turkey international was at times unplayable, with his performance – some could say – emblematic of the difference in quality between the two Yorkshire sides.

Rosenior said: “It (the hat-trick) was better than good. He deserves it and I’m so happy for him.

“The reason the quality is there is because the fitness is now there – that sums up his attitude.

“He is working so hard. He’s pressing so hard from the front along with Liam (Delap). And when you work so hard in life, you get the rewards.”

Wednesday were poor, but they somehow took the lead after 36 minutes when Juan Delgado capitalised upon Dominic Iorfa’s low cross via a deflection.

Hully equalised in first-half injury time when Lee Gregory elbowed Jacob Greaves inside the box and – from the resulting spot-kick – Tufan scored an unstoppable penalty.

The Turkey international then stole the show after the interval by firstly scoring a wonderful second from the edge of the penalty area after 58 minutes.

With Wednesday out of ideas and fatigued, Tufan put the game out of sight with a similarly-precise finish with the inside of his right foot.

Substitute Aaron Connolly made it 4-1 after he passed the ball into an open net following Michael Ihiekwe’s poor back-pass.

And though Wednesday substitute Michael Smith added a touch of respectability to the scoreline in stoppage time, Owls fans may have few qualms with the result.

Rosenior: “I’ve got to give the players all the credit in the world – they were fantastic from start to finish.

“They responded brilliantly (from the opening goal) and also by how I want to build as a club.

“In my opinion, it was complete domination from start to finish. That was not a 4-2 win. We should not have conceded a second and it should have been more.

“If you look at us now, we are much fitter and more front-footed as a team.

“We must stay consistent and keep working but there are some really, really positive signs.”

Wednesday have now lost their first two games since gaining promotion from League One.

Manager Xisco Munoz said: “The second half we were very far away from what I want.

“I didn’t see the balance for a consistent performance, but the situation right now is to control emotions.

“We need to control the moments and we need to improve with duels – both in offence and defence.

“We needed to improve on many things, but every day we get better and better and get closer, but we need to find a solution.

“We need to improve about clean sheets and defensive situations, but this is my job. They called me for this situation, and I will give 100 per cent.

“It is my responsibility. The players gave everything, but we now have to improve our tactics and our fitness.”

Munoz, who ironically signed Tufan when in charge at Watford two years ago, added: “We need the balance – this is the situation.

“The first half was closer to the performance we want, but we didn’t do it in the second half.

“The intensity in the second half was the difference. This is one of the situations we need to improve.

“This team has more capacity for attacking, but we need to work very hard about the balance, with more time on the ball and playing higher.

“We need to understand better about what the Championship demands.”

Shaun Maloney admits his Wigan Athletic side are “ahead of schedule” after starting their Sky Bet League One campaign with two successive wins following a 2-1 victory over Northampton at the DW Stadium.

Having started the campaign with an eight-point deduction for financial issues last season, Wigan are now only two points from wiping out that deficit after a flying start.

Two goals in the last 20 minutes from Charlie Hughes and Callum McManaman gave them victory over Northampton, who had led through a Sam Hoskins free-kick after 24 minutes.

Maloney’s men would move into positive points with another win at Carlisle on Tuesday.

“It’s been a really positive start in the league,” he said.

“We set ourselves a target of six games to get into positive points, so we’re maybe a little ahead of schedule.

“But we know what football can do.

“In terms of today’s game, I thought it opened up in the last 20 minutes, but we had a brilliant feeling at the end.

“And all the credit has to go to the players.

“It was the players that had to see out the last half an hour at Derby, where we had to defend for our lives.

“We had to do the same here for the last 10 minutes plus seven minutes of injury time.

“But the mentality of the young group, I think it’s always a bit of an unknown.

“And we had some big, big performances today to get us over the line.”

Wigan’s matchwinner was McManaman, who is in his third spell at the club, having won a 12-month deal in the summer after training with the side since Maloney’s arrival in January.

“I thought he was brilliant in the first half against Derby, but he’s had a knock on his hip,” added the Wigan boss.

“I would have liked to have started him today, and I ended up needing him longer than I wanted.

“But it was a brilliant day for Callum.

“I’ve seen the progression he’s made while he’s been back here, all the work he’s put in, and I’m so, so happy for him.”

For Northampton boss Jon Brady, it was a case of what might have been.

“It’s a step up in standard and, if you don’t defend right, you get punished, and we were today,” he said.

“We’re still getting there, but today’s performance gave me a lot of confidence in the group.

“On a big pitch like this, it’s very difficult to step on and press like we did in the first half.

“And that’s a big reason why we couldn’t step on as much in the second half.

“We scored a very good goal, that’s the quality Sam possesses.

“We also hit the post, but I’ll compliment Wigan here.

“The blocks in the box won them the game today.

“A lot of our opportunities were what I’d want from my team.

“But their attitude, their never-say-die, their never-give-up, was really commendable.”

Both Brady and his assistant Colin Caldwerwood were yellow carded in the final half an hour by referee Ross Joyce.

“McManaman has poleaxed one of my players, and the referee has done nothing about that,” he added.

“And the fourth official pretends he hasn’t seen it, which is disappointing.

“It’s just the consistency and the dark arts they were using.

“But I’ll leave it there before I say too much.”

Michael Beale spoke of “a rough week behind the scenes” ending on a high after a late Rangers surge gave them a 4-0 cinch Premiership win over Livingston at Ibrox.

The Govan outfit came in for heavy criticism after losing their league opener 1-0 at Kilmarnock last weekend and there were still some misgivings after the Gers beat Servette 2-1 in the first leg of their Champions League qualifier at home on Wednesday night.

On a day that midfielder Jose Cifuentes made his first start, Sam Lammers opened the scoring with a drive after 10 minutes but it was a struggle thereafter until Brazilian attacker Danilo headed in a second in the 78th minute, with further goals from substitutes Abdallah Sima and Kieran Dowell putting gloss on the scoreline.

Beale said: “The game was in three parts. The first part we started really well and scored a really good first goal.

“Todd (Cantwell) did great linking with Cyriel (Dessers) and it was nice for Sam to get his first official goal.

“Cifuentes had a fantastic debut but after his goal gets called off (for handball) we slowed down and got stuffy.

“We spoke about that but it didn’t improve till the subs came on. If anything part of our play was wasteful when we had good moments.

“There was tension in the stadium. We had some good moments when we should have killed things off and didn’t.

“Fair play to Sima and Rabbi (Matondo), they gave us what we needed and took us up the pitch and we got back to where we started in the game. We improved and I’m pleased that those three then got their first goals too.

“So it was a mixed bag. It was a rough week behind the scenes. Players going into the first home game in the league in a season when we are under more than a little bit of pressure.

“For the new guys they rode every emotion this week. That’s why at the end of the week when I pick the bones out of it I’ll be positive rather than pessimistic.

“The new guys have scored their goals, Dujon (Sterling) had his debut, Jose was excellent and Jack (Butland) has his first clean sheet so all in all, the week has ended better than it started.”

Livi boss David Martindale was somewhat bemused to leave Ibrox on the back of such a negative scoreline.

He said: “Goals change games. Believe it or not, I was sitting there thinking that (goalkeeper) Shamal George had a good game but he’s picked the ball out of the net four times.

“I think this has been my 10th year at Livingston and we’ve played Rangers in eight of those years.

“I’ve been battered in games, I’ve lost them 1-0, I’ve lost them 2-0. I think this is my heaviest defeat at Ibrox and I genuinely think we’ve been in the game for 78 minutes.

“We managed to nullify a lot of the threats that Rangers posed, so I was fairly happy.

“Listen, we can do better at the first goal, but I genuinely thought we could get a goal at 1-0.

“I was just about to make a couple of changes before the second goal went in, but we allowed a cross to come in from (Borna) Barisic which we knew they were going to do and we didn’t defend the back stick well enough.

“Rangers got huge energy, confidence and momentum from the crowd because up until that point, the game could have swung – they looked like they could score again and we looked like we could get one back.

“I’m frustrated, but also proud of the players up to a certain level, and also disappointed for them. I could see how much they put into it.”

Stephen Robinson believes there is more to come from his St Mirren side after they moved top of the cinch Premiership with a 2-1 victory over Dundee.

The Buddies have won their opening two fixtures of the season and find themselves three points clear at the summit of the league table following a well-deserved success at the SMISA Stadium.

Joe Shaughnessy’s own goal and Mikael Mandron’s header had the hosts in control at half-time, though Josh Mulligan netted to set up a nervy conclusion.

Having thrown away a 2-0 lead against Hibernian in their last fixture before clinching a late victory, there was clear tension when Dundee clawed a goal back and Robinson is looking for more composure from his team.

“Result wise it has been very good. In both games we’ve went 2-0 up, lot’s of good quality – in the first half we should have been up by more,” he said.

“We need a little bit more composure in managing the game, it became a little bit frantic and panicky but we still created chances.

“We were resolute and showed real determination to hang on. We’ve managed to pick up results while we’re improving and I think we’ll continue to improve.”

St Mirren recorded their first ever top-six finish in the Premiership last season and Robinson’s side have continued their excellent form into the new campaign.

The Saints gaffer believes team spirit has been key to their success and insists everyone is striving to make the club better.

“The boys that came in took their chances today. I just think it’s the characters we’ve got in the squad, there’s a never-say-die attitude,” he added.

“When times are hard and you’re struggling you need to be able to look around and know you can trust the people next to you – I feel like the squad do that, they trust the staff and the people that we are trying to make the club better bit by bit within our means.”

Dundee boss Tony Docherty says his side must learn quickly after falling to their first defeat since promotion to the Premiership.

Zach Robinson missed a penalty during what was a well below-par showing from the Dark Blues in the first half.

They would put in a much improved display after the restart, but it was to be a case of too little too late.

“I felt we didn’t start the game well and St Mirren were by far the better team in the first half,” Docherty said.

“In the second half we changed the shape and we were really unlucky not to get a point and maybe even go on and win it if we’d got that second goal.

“I’ve got experience of this league, it’s punishing and if you don’t take your opportunities then it’ll come back and bite you – that happened today.

“We need to learn quick. In both games we’ve played, we’ve probably merited more points than we’ve taken.

“There’s a lot of boys it’s their first time playing in the Premier League, the positive to take is we’ve shown we are good enough.”