When Martin Allen was asked why he had returned to Barnet for a fourth time, he answered with a joke.

“I’d finished watching Breaking Bad and the garden is looking fantastic, so there wasn’t much more for me to do,” he said.

His fourth Bees reign got off to a winning start as his side completed a 2-0 victory against Hereford United thanks to a Keanu Marsh-Brown brace.

Allen’s relationship with Barnet is a long and complicated one but he is pleased to be back in charge and is looking forward to an exciting end to the Skrill Premier season.

He said: “The chairman rang me up on Wednesday morning and he asked me if I wanted to come and work.

“I’d finished watching Breaking Bad and the garden is looking fantastic, so there wasn’t much more for me to do.

“We’ve got seven games remaining, we all know the potential and the possibilities that could be at the end of the line.

“If we have a fantastic end to the season, it could be very exciting.”

Allen took a break from management after being sacked by Gillingham last October. He said he enjoyed his rest but is happy to be back in charge at a club.

His last spell with the Bees came in 2012. He was appointed manager for three matches and kept the club in League Two with a final day victory at Burton Albion.

He wanted to remain at the club for the 2012/2013 season but the Bees decided to appoint Mark Robson the following summer. 

Allen became Gillingham manager and helped the club win the League Two title. Barnet were relegated from the Football League.

Their paths have crossed again however and when asked if he had unfinished businesses with the Bees, Allen said: “I don’t view it like that. That was yesterday, yester year or whatever you would like to call it. So you just get on with the today.

“What happened has happened. There were maybe some things I could have done better and there were perhaps some things the club could have done better.

“If we all sat around thinking about that though we would all screw our heads up and wouldn’t be able to take a step forward.

“We’ve got a good win today and I am looking forward to coming into work next week. We play Cambridge City on Saturday who are second in the table, so that will be a good game.”