GIOVANNI VAN BRONCKHORST has defended his decision to start midfielder John Lundstram at centre-back for the draw with Motherwell on Sunday.

The former Sheffield United star joined Connor Goldson at the heart of the Light Blues' rearguard following an impressive outing in a defensive role against Borussia Dortmund last week.

Leon Balogun returned to action for that Europa League clash but wasn't deemed fit enough to start against the Steelmen and Van Bronckhorst was also without the services of Filip Helander once again.

Van Bronckhorst said: "Filip was not available [on Sunday]. Leon has just come back from injury and we took quite a risk to put him in the game on Thursday. For him, he wasn’t able to start.

"I think John did really well and first half you could see his passing and defensively he was also strong. We were putting him in midfield to build up and I think that worked well.

"In the end, you look to the players you have available and try to get the best possible."