CHERRIES boss Sean O'Driscoll explained his decision to drop fans' favourite Wade Elliott to the substitutes' bench at Sixfields, reports Neil Perrett.

Elliott was surprisingly omitted from the Cherries starting line-up for the first time this season before he eventually came on for Karl Broadhurst in the 59th minute.

O'Driscoll said: "There's a lot of pressure on Wade's shoulders and I just felt that with the arrival of JJ Melligan it was a good opportunity to give him a rest.

"He has set unbelievably high standards for himself and maybe he's dropped a little bit from those, but he's still a really effective player for us.

"I might only have JJ here for a couple of weeks and as Wade is only in his second full season and he has played every game so far. I had the personnel who could fit into that position."

Although there were a few raised eyebrows over Elliott's omission, the 23-year-old midfielder - who celebrated his birthday on Friday - failed to make much impact after he had come off the bench.