Wanderers defender George Johnston is thrilled to be back on the pitch after a frustrating time out of action.

The defender made his first start since the end of January during Friday’s 1-0 win against Exeter at St James Park.

Johnston admits it was a tough afternoon but was pleased to be in the thick of action rather than watching from the sidelines.

“It has been a long time and I’ve been missing it a lot,” he said. “It was good to be back out there with the lads.

“It was always going to be tough, especially at 1-0 up they came onto us more then. It was about keeping it tight at the back and trying to finish our chances at the other end.

“We did our job as best as we could at the back and thankfully we came away with the three points.”

Johnston played in a training game against Rotherham and also got some minutes under his belt for the B Team over the past few weeks.

“It was quite tough towards the end but the lads helped me through it,” he added.

“Obviously, we had the friendly last week against Rotherham so I built up some minutes, but it doesn’t really compare to a league game. It was tough but I am glad to have got through it.”

Wanderers managed to keep the Exeter attack at bay despite facing a barrage of crosses into the box, particularly during the second half.

But Johnston relishes those type of challenges and praised his defensive team-mates, Gethin Jones and Luke Mbete.

The 24-year-old explained: “I prefer defending to actually having the ball. Not many people are like that!

“But I prefer to do the ugly side of the game and I know the lads around me, Luke and Gethin, they are willing to do it alongside me.

“We pressed from the front and the subs that came on helped out massively, putting pressure on them. It was a real group performance today, a real team effort.”

He added: “I don’t enjoy loads of balls coming into the box because it means we’re under pressure!

“But having to deal with it, I just keep Geth and Luke tight to me either side and we keep solid as a three, marking two strikers so they shouldn’t have much space.

“We dealt with it well. Luke is a big, powerful boy as well. He is good in the air and was putting his body on the line.”