WANDERERS boss Gary Waddock admits Blues fans didn't see the best of Elliot Benyon after the striker cut short his Adams Park loan spell to join Southend.

The High Wycombe-born striker made just two league starts for Blues in a season-long loan spell from Swindon Town.

Fans had high hopes he would do well for Blues after a prolific spell at Torquay United but he scored just once for his home town team, a penalty against Nottingham Forest in the Carling Cup.

The 24-year-old didn't feature in a league game for Wycombe after the 2-1 defeat at Rochdale on October 1, making his final appearance in a Wanderers shirt during the FA Cup defeat against non-league Fleetwood Town in November.

Benyon broke his hand after landing awkwardly in a pre-season training session and Waddock said that was a setback he failed to recover from.

The Blues boss said: "We didn't see the best of him unfortunately. He got an injury in pre-season at the wrong time and it just didn't work out for him. He's a good goalscorer and I wish him good luck at Southend.

"Sometimes you go to clubs and it doesn't work out and unfortunately he had an injury which didn't help him at an important time. It just didn't happen for him. I know for sure he'll go to Southend and score goals."

Waddock said he wasn't able to terminate the loan deal early to free up extra cash to bring in new players. He said: "It was out of our hands, it was a case of Swindon being in the position to do that."

In other transfer news midfielder Ben Harding has joined League Two side Northampton Town on loan until the end of the season.

The midfielder joined from Waddock’s former club Aldershot Town in the summer but has struggled to force his way into the first team reckoning.

Six of his eleven appearances have come from the substitute’s bench and he hasn’t started a game since the defeat against Cheltenham Town in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy in early October.

Waddock said: "He's another one who's had an injury during the course of the season. It's been a bit of a stop-start for him. He needs games like one or two more need games."