Wayne Thomas backed up his claim of being a goal machine on the training pitch with his first Saints strike.

The defender was clearly pleased to register his first goal for the club in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy success over Charlton, but was keen to stress what effect a win will do for the team.

"I'm delighted to get on the score sheet," he grinned. "It's been a while even though I've been scoring everyday in training! But I've not been able to do it where it counts which is on the pitch.

"I was just happy to be in the right place at the right time because I was looking for Rickie in all honesty to be there, but it was a great delivery by Lloydy and I was there to help get a great result for the lads.

"It's a great result which keeps our momentum going, and hopefully we can continue that into the league."

A late goal took the gloss off the result for the 30 year-old who admitted that it was frustrating to see the Addicks notch one at the end.

"It's devastating, because everyone looks at the result and it means everything to you as a defender to keep a clean sheet, but I think Charlton were worthy of their goal, as they put us under a fair bit of pressure in the second half.

"They showed that they were a good side with their ball retention and we conceded a little bit of ground and maybe we took our foot off the gas a touch, but it was always going to be a difficult game for us, they are where they are in the league because they are a good side.

"It's a testament to them they kept going to the end, and gave us a bit of a scare late on.

"However, we've shown good resilience and we've come back in a few games, so the lads have put in a fantastic performance and have been rewarded, but the league remains a priority for us at the moment."

Thomas has also showed his capabilities tonight by playing one half at right back and the other in his more natural position of the middle, something he hopes will keep him high up in the pecking order in the squad.

"There's great competition for places, with two or three great players for every position and it's a great dilemma for the manager. At the end of the day, the lads are playing really well, and whoever is playing deserves to be doing so."

If Saints can continue to get results then the former Stoke City and Burnley man says Alan Pardew's side will be a feared opposition, in both the league, and the Trophy as well.

"I think a lot of the clubs left in the competition will be looking at us and not really fancy coming up against us because we're on a great run. Teams with momentum tend to get a bit of luck with them, so I think we'll be in the hat and a few teams won't fancy taking us on.

"It's just good to keep the momentum from the last couple of weeks up because I think we've been as a good as anyone in the league, and if we had those ten points back we'd be right in the thick of things, so it's great as long as we can carry it on."