Sincil Bank bow

WE know how difficult it will now be for us to reach the play-offs but that said, if we win our next three games who knows?

Aside from Accrington Stanley, I don’t think anyone is really grabbing the bull by the horns at the moment at the top end of our division.

Over the last few weeks, we’ve not been focusing on anything other than winning the next game in front of us and that’s still the case.

We have three tough games left and we’re just thinking about Lincoln on Saturday, at the moment.

We’ve beaten Lincoln once already this season and we will go there on Saturday looking to do the same again.

I’ve never played at Sincil Bank before but I know they have a fantastic fanbase there who get right behind their team.

They’ve a team with momentum in the city and on the back of a cup final win at Wembley, are looking for back-to-back promotions.

Everyone’s got behind the manager and assistant manager there since they took over and they’ve done well.

But on our day, we’ve more than proved that we can beat anyone in the division and we know that we can be more than a match for Lincoln.

Key moments again

I’VE spoken for a long time in my Daily Gazette column about the key moments in games and it happened again last weekend, against Notts County.

We created a lot of opportunities in the final third but they didn’t quite fall for us.

Even in the first half, there were a couple of spills off their keeper that didn’t quite fall for us.

Tom Eastman hit the post with a header early in the second half and had we scored a second goal, I think it would have been a different game.

We’re in the middle of a spell of playing teams who are currently above us in the table and all of those sides are capable of punishing you in the final third, if you allow them to.

A lot was said about Shola Ameobi’s alleged elbow towards Luke Prosser late in the first half of the Notts County.

I saw it out of the corner of my eye at the time but I’ve seen it again since on the replay and he definitely goes to move his arm towards Pross.

If the referee hasn’t seen it, there’s not too much he can do apart from asking his assistant who evidently hadn’t seen it either.

The referee said on the pitch at the time that he hadn’t seen what had happened and apologised but I think Shola was a bit naughty doing that.

I could see just after it had happened that he was looking a bit sheepish and perhaps knew he had got away with one.

It was one of a few decisions last weekend that didn’t go our way but referees have a very hard job.

Stanley are worthy of promotion

ACCRINGTON Stanley sealed their first-ever promotion to League One on Tuesday night and I think it’s fair to say that they’ve been the best team in the division.

Earlier in the season, my personal view was that Luton Town were the best team and I still think there probably are, on their day.

I think now it’ll be about who wins the league.

Last season in League Two, there were three key teams throughout the season in Portsmouth, Doncaster Rovers and Plymouth Argyle and they ran away with it a bit.

That hasn’t always necessarily been the case this season but you have to say that Accrington’s form since Christmas has been superb.

They’ve built an unstoppable momentum and they have a great points return.

Senior joy

IT’S great news that Courtney Senior has signed a new two-year contract with Colchester United.

He went through a similar thing to me after suffering a serious knee injury and he will have had the same kind of feeling as I had, coming back from something like that.

It’s not easy trying to get back to the level you want but he’s done that and has been a breath of fresh air.

He came back into the team after Christmas and helped to boost our points return in that time and he’s got a bright future ahead of him.

He’s got himself into the first team starting line-up on several occasions and the key thing for him now is to go away in the summer and then come back next season ready to hit the ground running and try and nail down a place in the starting line-up.

It’s great work by the club to get him tied up for another two years and he has such massive potential.

Teams must step up 

I DON’T think anyone was surprised to see Manchester City win the Premier League title, this season.

It will be interesting to see if they can carry that on.

They’ve dominated so much this season and other clubs will have to raise their game, next season.

But their players aren’t going anywhere and they are only going to strengthen, this summer.

They’re only going to improve as a squad and I just can’t see a similar scenario to Chelsea this season, where they’ve fallen short after winning last season’s title.

Pep Guardiola will be hungry for more titles and so will his players, along with the Champions League.

City winning the title by such a margin will have hurt Jose Mourinho, as it will Mauricio Pochettino and Jurgen Klopp.

Aside from the Manchester United situation, Klopp is doing a phenomenal job at Liverpool in the Champions League but he will want to challenge for the Premier League title.

And it’s a big season for Spurs, going into their new season because they’ll be looking to compete and hold onto their best players like Christian Eriksen and Harry Kane.

Chelsea will want to challenge again under possibly a new manager and although Arsenal have been on the periphery this season, who knows what will happen next season?

Spurs must be up for the cup

IT’S the FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley this weekend – and I think whoever wins the Manchester United v Spurs tie will probably emerge as the eventual winners.

It’s a big competition for Spurs, because they need to start winning things.

They have a fantastic manager and players and they are moving to a super new stadium but they have to continue that momentum and one of the ways to do that is by lifting trophies.

I can see Chelsea beating Southampton but not Manchester United or Spurs.

It’s a semi-final at Wembley and it’s a one-off game where anything can happen but I just can’t see Southampton beating Chelsea, especially after they threw away that two-goal lead against last weekend.

James will go the distance

HAD I not become a professional footballer, I think I’d have liked to have taken part in the London Marathon.

But the trouble with being as tall as I am is that running that kind of distance – and all of the preparation that goes with it – is no good for the limbs.

And by the time I retire, hopefully when I’m in my late thirties to early forties, I’m fairly sure my body will just want to chill and not take part in that madness!

But it’s a great day and the crowds there add to the occasion.

My old Colchester team-mate and friend James Bransgrove is running his first London Marathon, on Sunday.

He’s really looking forward to it and whenever I see him, he looks healthy, happy and well after taking the decision to come away from professional football, last season.

Tony Flynn, our physio at Colchester, has run it seven times I think, which is some achievement!

Survey says no for me

SO Everton have apparently sent out survey to some of their fans, asking them to rate the performance of the manager Sam Allardyce and the players, this season.

Personally, I’m quite uneasy about that idea and I know for a fact that Big Sam isn’t too happy about it!

I can see why he would be miffed.

You can’t please everyone all of the time and you’ll always get some disgruntlement.

The supporters generally get their chance to vent their feelings, whether it’s through what they do inside the ground or through ticket sales and you can generally gauge things from that.

And if you’re going to do it, I think you need to open it up to all fans and treat everyone equally, because everyone’s opinion matters.

VAR situation was a farce

THERE were farcical scenes in Germany a few days ago when players in the Mainz-Freiburg game were called from the dressing room at half-time after a penalty was awarded through VAR.

I’d have been very unhappy with that, had it happened to my team and I can imagine how cross the players involved were.

It’s a real worry and I really hope that VAR is not going to be to the detriment of the World Cup, this summer.

It certainly needs a lot of work and I don’t think there are many people who are totally all for it.

It has its good elements but I think the Premier League made the right decision in steering clear of it, for the time being at least.