SAM Allardyce refused to allow the relief of rescuing a point gloss over the bitter disappointment in how Wanderers got to being just seconds away from a morale-shattering home defeat on Saturday.

The manager was pleased with his team's overall performance and proud of the never-say-die spirit that resulted in Youri Djorkaeff snatching a last-gasp equaliser to deny Gordon Strachan's Southampton their first away win of the season. But he was critical on two fronts - the squandering of chances and the poor defending that led to Saints' England full-back Wayne Bridge snatching the lead eight minutes from time.

The defence, in particular, bore the brunt of his wrath. "What I was absolutely gutted about was that we didn't see the game through right to the end and failed to keep that all-important clean sheet. Then that goal would have been the winner.

"Certainly after squandering so many chances in front of goal, it was extremely disappointing to go 1-0 down.

"In the end there was great fight, great battling spirit from the players and we got a point - a valuable point. When you nick a point in the last minute, the dying seconds, you are always grateful because it could have been none. No matter how the two teams played over the 90 minutes, they were 1-0 up with just those few seconds to go so, from that point of view, it's

brilliant. But we squandered far too many chances and missed out on a valuable three points.

"I know their goal was a deflection but we switched off. We shouldn't have allowed Wayne Bridge to get that far forward but we were never-say-die as always and, although I'm disappointed not to get the three points, I'm glad we got something out of the game."

Wanderers are now left counting the cost of a series of results that have left them with just seven points from seven games, fourth from bottom of the Premiership when they believe they should have been sitting comfortably in mid-table.

"We've scored in every Premiership match this season, which is pleasing," the manager pointed out, "but I'm disappointed we are only on seven points when realistically we should be on 10. We should have drawn against Charlton, Liverpool and Arsenal."

He went on to stress the importance of results rather than performances and dismissed the notion that, because Wanderers are generally believed to have a stronger squad and better players than last season, they can expect to finish higher in the table.

"It's no good keep talking about how much better equipped we are," he stressed, "the bottom line is that we have to get results. Performances are always important but it's results that count.

"The performance on Saturday was excellent under the circumstances. We had to play a cagey game in the first half without creating too much but in the second we kept the pressure relentlessly on Southampton, but, unfortunately, when the chances came we couldn't put them in the back of the net to kill the game off.

"It looked like we were going to be dealt another cruel blow but we came storming back to get a little bit of a reward."

Despite the criticism, however, Allardyce praised the resolve of his players after their last gasp defeats by Liverpool and Arsenal. "We've had two Premiership defeats on the trot and were facing a third," he pointed out. "That's a lot of pressure for the players to withstand, knowing they have to go out there and perform.

"They went for the three points but they must always remember not to leave the back door open."

Allardyce had no complaints about Southampton's tactics, which were based on a solid defensive unit. "It is exactly how we play away from home," he added, "and they made it difficult for us to break them down.

"The keeper was excellent - he keeps Jussi (Jaaskelainen) out of the national side and he looked worth the £2 million they paid for him - but I still say when you've got the chances you should be taking them."