Sympathetic Peter Taylor admitted it was a tough decision to drop Jon McLaughlin but felt: I got it right.

Lenny Pidgeley returned to City’s goal for the Wycombe win and kept their first clean sheet in seven outings. His display also earned a place in the League Two team of the week.

McLaughlin had played the previous four games after the former Chelsea stopper was struck down with a virus.

Taylor had been pleased with his performances but wanted to pack the team with older heads to arrest City’s slump. Pidgeley was one of six changes from the home loss to Lincoln as the average age in the side shot up.

Taylor said: “I wanted as much experience on the pitch as possible. That’s all it was.

“Jon has done nothing wrong but you have to make a decision that you think is right. I thought it was a good game to bring Lenny back.

“You can’t keep everybody happy but I do feel for the players in that situation. I also took a gamble playing Lewis Hunt and Simon Ramsden right from the start. It was a risk because they are the two who can play right back and were both likely to be tired with 20 minutes left.

“I just felt Hunty had more minutes in him so it was worth taking that chance. You’ve got to make those decisions at times.”

Pidgeley pulled off a big save from Stuart Lewis at 0-0 and showed a cool head and confident handling when Wycombe were throwing extra men forward in the closing stages.

Taylor added: “I thought Lenny came in and did very well. It was a good performance.

“But I didn’t think Wycombe got anywhere near us in the second half.

“It shows a bit of respect for our team that (manager) Gary Waddock made a lot about the penalty he felt they should have had. It would have been extremely harsh anyway but they didn’t really hurt us after that.”