Basic errors are such a pain

AFTER a March packed with nine fixtures, by the time Easter has been and gone we will have played 13 games in only five-and-a-half weeks.

Without making excuses for where we are at the moment, we had the same happen last season — a long string of matches packed together, where our results dipped. It is no coincidence.

I think we are unfairly treated when it comes to games being rearranged. I don't know the reason for it and it is not something I get involved in.

But to have nine games in a month, after you have already played 30 league matches plus all of our cup fixtures, is a very difficult task.

You can't prepare the team properly as you don't have the time. The players are hurting mentally and physically, as there is no respite for them.

It is different when you have a squad large enough to be able to chop and change three or four players for every game.

With us, though, we are left hoping and praying we can get our best team on the field week-in, week-out.

Last week at Notts County we produced a good performance, but the final result was a sickener.

Apart from the odd game here and there, that is the way it is going for us at the moment.

On a bad pitch, we passed the ball well and took away a lot of positives from the game.

The defining moments in football matches are often whether you take your chances or not.

At the moment, ours aren't going in — and it seems everyone else's are.
A full version of this story appears in the printed and eChron editions.