Southampton boss Nigel Adkins hailed striker Ricki Lambert after their 2-2 draw at Chelsea.

Adkins urged them not to panic at the interval.

"We know Chelsea are a good side. We knew if we opened up the space they have players who can hurt you," Adkins said.

"We came with a game-plan to be compact and frustrate the opposition. It was a big call to leave Rickie Lambert out but we wanted to make sure we were in the game.

"At half-time it was 2-0 and I said, 'stick to the game-plan'. If we had gone and chased it there was every chance we could have ended up with a scoreline like Aston Villa, who conceded eight here.

"We stuck at it. Rickie came on and scored the goal and what a fantastic goal it was for the second one.

"Not many teams will come back from two goals down against Chelsea."