When Martin Allen said in December Barnet would not strengthen in January it was hard to believe him. The temptation is always there for any manager or head coach when the transfer window re-opens.

I asked Allen straight up whether or not he would sign anyone and he looked me in the eye and replied: "No." He was adamant.

And yet when Bernard Mensah returned to Watford following the completion of his loan spell, it became abundantly clear another striker would be required to assist the Bees' final promotion push.

There is no getting away from the fact Barnet have been remarkably fortunate with injuries this season - though I'm sure Allen would praise the hard work of physio Jayde Cook if it were put to him, as opposed to luck.

Captain Charlie MacDonald missed virtually the entire of autumn but his has been the only significant absence and as good as he has been, it's not doing him or anyone else a disservice to say John Akinde is the one player most fans would least want to see sidelined for an extended period.

But by and large, the first-choice strike pairing have both been available more often than not.

Sam Hoskins plugged a gap whilst MacDonald recovered from knee ligament damage but the Yeovil Town loanee never quite showed the spark which suggested he could challenge the Akinde-MacDonald axis once the latter had returned to fitness.

The same went for Mensah, who though different to any of the Bees' other striking options on account of his pace, was never a player you expected to change a game when he came off the bench.

Experience was the common denominator linking Mensah and Hoskins. And both players, for all their assets, lacked it.

Barnet's latest acquisition, former Cambridge United and Kidderminster Harriers goal-getter Michael Gash, has bags of it. And in the promotion run-in it could just be the difference between a stroll towards promotion and a nervy finish.

Allen was keen to stress upon signing Gash he would be second fiddle to Akinde and MacDonald. "I told him straight exactly what his position would be," revealed Allen. "It would be sub."

Perhaps not the conventional way of enticing a player to join your club but when they've played for two struggling sides earlier in the season, the lure of a promotion push must be hard to resist.

Gash won't kick up a fuss if he doesn't start too often because he was not brought to the club to start games and that has been spelled out to him from the outset.

Instead he was brought to The Hive to shake things up and change games when teams are keeping Akinde and MacDonald at arm's length.

He knows where the back of the net is at this level and instantly the prospect of the experienced Gash fills you with more confidence coming off the bench than either Mensah or Hoskins.

At 28, Gash is in his prime and knowing the Bees are on currently course to win promotion to the Football League, he will be desperate to prove his worth and hope to win a contract beyond the end of the current season too - what better incentive is there?

By the same token, if the Bees are to retain David Hunt until the end of the season, the Oxford United loanee should prove a similarly shrewd acquisition.

It was evident against Aldershot Town at New Year's Day quite how highly Allen regards Hunt. Despite being a loan player, the 32-year-old was stood at the back of the East Stand deep in conversation with Allen and player-coach Jon Nurse; a fully-fledged member of the boss' brain trust.

Hunt might not be an exciting, creative player, but like Gash he brings with him a wealth of experience and nous which could prove the difference between now and the end of the campaign.