ALEX Woodyard earned praise from manager Paul Sturrock after the young midfielder was restored to the starting line-up for Saturday's 2-2 draw with Brentford.

Woodyard replaced the departed Tamika Mkandwire just in front of the back four.

And Sturrock was pleased with his performance.

“Woody had a job to do in there and seemed to enjoy it,” said the Blues boss.

“He doesn't always train to those levels and that sometimes puts you off putting him out there.

“But him getting selected was testament to the form he showed earlier on in the season when he played and he stuck to the task well on Saturday too.”