1. Mental fatigue and expectation will hurt you more than physical fatigue. There has been much said on a thread concerning fatigue. The view of that discussion is focusing on the physical aspect of the condition. To me though that isn't what should be considered at this point in the season. The mental aspect, couple with the increased expectation, is what is coming more to the fore. Consider the matches pre Christmas. Players were enjoying their football and playing constantly very well and winning with , on many occasions, ease. Since the turn of the year it has become a little more of a slog and that has coincided with the expectation and talk of the team being real and genuine contenders for promotion to the Championship. Before that we were largely just enjoying the ride and going with it. Suddenly though it became that bit more serious and that has affected the performances. It weighs heavy on the minds of players when that expectation increases and they will try to force early passes more than they previously had, resulting in fewer coming off. Football isn't just played on the pitch. Games are won inside players heads as well and when that extra pressure begins to tell, it's often difficult to wrench it back.
2. After 31 games this season, we have just fallen out of the automatic promotion places in League 1. I would encourage everyone thinking what a calamity that is to dust down your time machine gathering dust in the shed and travel back a mere five years and consider how your younger self is contemplating having just lost 4-1 to Dover Athletic. Give your younger self a hug and tell them everything will be fine and explain where your beloved team are. They very likely wouldn't believe such success could be possible in fifty years let alone five.
3. Callum Morton will be a bonus player for us in the run in. A natural goalscorer is a difficult thing to obtain, but he has that in his locker. He does need to pull his socks up though. I mean that literally not figuratively. Around your ankles just looks scruffy. It's not the 1970's anymore.
