GORDON Strachan had just seen his Southampton side denied their first away win of the season yet was still able to show the ready wit that is as much his trademark as his sometimes fiery temperament.

Youri Djorkaeff's equaliser two minutes into injury time left Strachan totally disappointed but he was still able to mask it with with his twinkling sense of humour.

"I may get into trouble because I have been saying the two minutes of added time were up when the goal went in.

"If it was scored under two minutes I apologise to the ref for getting it wrong.

"If he's right then my watch is wrong and I'll ask him (the referee) where he bought his from so I can get a better one."

The goal still left Strachan frustrated and upset after he thought his side had snatched what looked to be the decisive goal from Wayne Bridge in the 82nd minute.

"Our game plan was smashing," he said after fielding a team without a recognised striker in the starting line-up.

"In the first half I thought we controlled the game and although Bolton changed it in the second half to use their power and height to give them possession and chances, I felt we were coping quite well.

"There was some pressure on us but you expect that yet I felt if we got the final pass and final shot right on the break the game was all over, especially as Beattie almost got a second for us when he put the ball onto the roof of the net."

In the end, however, Srtrachan reckoned it was a lack of professionalism and comcentration that cost his side a welcome win.

"You could say we did not have the luck but it is ability, not luck, that wins games.

"We have to work hard to get our final pass right to open up the goal. While Arsenal and Liverpool and other good teams can make two or three good passes to finish off moves we are finding it difficult to get right the one that creates the scoring chance."

The one success he did achieve in his preparations for the game surrounded the unlikely goalscorer Wayne Bridge.

It was suggested that Strachan 'had a go' at the England defender last week for not getting into shooting positions.

"I wasn't having a go, it was just giving him some advice," he said jokingly.

"Of course it's more dramatic if you said I had a go and slammed Bridge - that's what you get on the 24 hour television rumour channel - but as a coach you have to give advice and that looked as if it worked this week."

He also defended his decision to start the game without recognised strikers James Beattie and Brett Ormerod, who hiy a hat-trick in a midweek reserve game, preferring midfield man Jo Tessum up front.

"I felt we needed height and Tessum looked the best in training. And he was a striker before he came to the club.

"My only disappointment was that he does tend to stray into offside positions. Again I tried to pass on my advice to him at half-time - and no, I didn't slam or have a blast at him."

The player who did impress him was Frenchman Fabrice Fernandes.

"He was my man of the match by a million miles. In a game between two physical sides he was above all of the bumping, banging and crashing and that's why French football is some of the best in the world.

"We had a lot of good things today but last week we lost at Tottenham in the last minute and now another late goal has cost us two points.

"It hurts badly, especially when you have such a long journey back to Southampton to ponder on it."