ALEX Neil said Luke Cundle earned his start against Portsmouth.

Cundle, 24, made his first league start of the season against Pompey on Saturday after coming off the bench at half-time against Lincoln City the previous weekend. He replaced Mark Sykes in the starting XI.

The midfielder played 75 minutes before being replaced by Alfie Doughty. The Lions drew the game 2-2.

“Luke came on against Lincoln, and he’s the only one who really came out of the game with a bit of credit,” Neil said. “There are two or three games this season I should have started Luke, and I didn’t because I do think when we bring him on, he has a big impact for us off the bench. He deserved to start.

“I actually thought Luke played pretty well in the game, so I had no issues with that. He started to look a little bit jaded. Dykesy looked a bit jaded. Jensen looked a bit jaded. Lisbie looked a bit jaded, and I just thought we needed fresh legs. We’re bringing on Alfie, Rom and Mika. Good quality players. In my mind, that’s a good, positive change to go and try to win the game. We didn’t manage to do that.”

The 24-year-old has made eleven appearances this season, scoring two goals. He missed two weeks in September with an ankle injury.