Gillingham manager Mark Stimson has defended his decision to substitute Andy Barcham in Saturday’s shock 2-0 home defeat by Barnet.

The withdrawal of the former Tottenham youngster with 15 minutes left was greeted with boos and cries of “you don’t know what you’re doing” by some sections of the Priestfield crowd.

But the Gills boss, with one eye on his side’s five remaining League 2 games, says it was done with the best of intentions.

Stimson said: “Andy has been carrying an injury for the past four weeks and he could just about walk at half-time. It’s a problem he has got at the back of his left knee and he was taken off for professional reasons.

“The boy has been fantastic to get out there and play and I didn’t want to bring him off because he was a danger and our most important player.

“He was hobbling in the second half and we didn’t want to be in a situation where he might miss the last five games.

“He was struggling at half-time and had treatment while the team talk was going on.

“He went out again because that’s the way the boy is but we had to take him off.

“Another 15 minutes out there and he might have been ruled out of one of our two Easter matches.”

Stimson added: “The crowd are entitled to their opinions and turned up thinking Andy was fit, and were disappointed to see our best player being dragged off and ask ‘why is he doing that?’

“It was done to protect Andy, to make sure we will get as many games out of him as we can.”