THERE has been plenty to keep everyone happy at the club, both on and off the pitch, this week.

Footballing-wise, we were pleased to go to Preston North End last weekend and pick up a good 0-0 draw in the FA Cup against a team from a higher division.

We weren’t really too sure what kind of team they were going to be selecting against us and we did start off quite cagey.

That meant we had to ride our luck a little bit in the first half when we got a few breaks.

They were unable to convert a penalty they were awarded and Luke Daniels also made some excellent saves.

But I think the gaffer set us up not to lose the game and, from about an hour onwards, I think he would have been pleased with the performance.

Unfortunately, I was on the bench and didn’t get on.

It goes without saying that I want to play and, just like everyone else, I want to play in every game we have.

However, the manager has the midas touch at the moment and is able to rotate things around.

The defence has pretty much stayed the same but midfield and attack has been altered quite frequently and we all realise we have a part to play.

Hopefully I can be involved when we go to Dagenham this weekend and that’s a game we’re all looking forward to.

It’s a local derby for us this season and it’s brilliant that we’ve sold our 1,500 ticket allocation for the match.

We’ve played there already this year and won in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy but I think it will be tougher this time.

The league table is starting to take shape and they’re struggling, so need the points just as much as we do.

Off the pitch, there has been plenty to keep us entertained as well.

We may all be grown men —although some do act quite childish — but we do end up having some strange and funny conversations.

One this week centred around who literally had the biggest head in the squad.

It got quite serious and actually led to the tape measure coming out and everyone having a go.

It was the circumference of the head which was recorded with the tape measure going round just above the eyes. And the winner actually turned out to be Eric Peter Gilbert.

There were also a few laughs in training during one of the matches we haD going on.

These always tend to be quite competitive and it was therefore quite funny when Mark Phillips kicked the corner flag and not the ball to enable the opposing team to score what proved to be the winning goal.

I’m sure that is something which will be in everyone’s mind when we vote to decide who has to wear the pink jersey before the Dagenham game this week.

However, it will be hard to match the excitement which was generated before the Preston game when Timmy Mallet was in the team hotel.

He didn’t have his pink hammer, which was a shame but, while our physio Ben Clarkson was incredibly excited about seeing him, some of the younger lads, like Ryan Leonard and Ken Ferdinand, didn’t even know who he was!

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