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" It was a necessary win, I didn't put it down as a must-win to the boys but I told them that I wanted to win it, and for that reason exactly - that we are going into a tough period now. Those three points are a nice cushion to go in with so it helps us to build. I've told them that they can look ahead now at these next three or four games and welcome them and look at them with a real anticipation to say let's get on with it.
" Because it's a real test for us now, we're in a good position, good competition to come and I think that this will be, not the make-or-break of us, but it will be a big telling period. For me, as well as the team and the squad here as to how we are going to fare for the rest of the season.
" You've got to fancy it as they say in the game and we're in a position where we fancy the opposition coming and testing ourselves against them. What we have to do is we feel that we have to play well and that's fine, we played OK on Saturday against Gillingham but we'll need to play a bit better than that I think. The games lift people, not just players but supporters as well, they are selling tickets for the Leeds game now and already there are queues outside the ground.
" So some of the games have that little extra edge and the ones coming up have certainly got that. Southend have got a good position in the table and a very good record recently, again it's a major test for us this week and then Leeds and Nottingham Forest, fantastic, it's really something to look forward to.
" Jeff (Smith) is not too bad, Jeff has got stitches and it is right on the kicking part of the foot so it is on the instep. It's really sore for him, even with the stitches out now we are going to have to test him out in training. It's not a long period of time for that though, it's just a soreness that he's got to come through.
" Paul (Thirlwell) on the other hand is going to be three or four weeks which is a real shame. I haven't seen Paul play yet, I know what he is like and what he can do but being captain of the club he is an influential person around the place as well. So to have him not on the pitch at some stage is going to be disappointing, particularly with these matches to come. "
" We can build the case for an emergency loan but Jeff is not long-term, Jeff will probably be around this weekend for instance. It's just a question of getting him to cope with that soreness on the foot, that's really all it is. He's not going to damage it any further so it's just getting that sorted out. So at the moment I'm not in any rush or any desperate stakes, but as I've said before we're looking at names and numbers to see if anything happens immediately that we need to move.
" You can't ask referees to protect your own players but I have to say that on Saturday he (Joe Garner) did get battered around from pillar to post throughout the game quite a lot. The tackle of his though was a bit careless anyway regardless of the beating he'd got from players, but that's the game he plays.
" He takes those bumps and those bruises, he wins those free-kicks, he knows sometimes that he's going into challenges where he might get hurt and he might get his knocks. That's the bravery of the kid though, what he's got to just temper it with is not getting careless ones.
" People will get booked and be seen by referees to get things but if it's careless it can be avoided, and we've just got to try to do that with Joe. Again, I've said before, there is no way that I can take the aggression out of the players because then I lose the player. It's just got to be tempered, and that's with everyone and not just with young Joe.
" Players do develop a reputation and referees do talk about it, it's as simple as that. They probably are more aware of a foul by a player with a reputation than one with a quiet one. I was lucky some years ago to work with Dennis Irwin at Wolverhampton Wanderers. He committed a number of fouls when he played the game and because he was Dennis Irwin - the nice guy - nobody booked him.
" You used to think that he'd got away with it, he was a bit of a quiet assassin but because of his nature and his reputation it didn't follow that way. So it does happen but young Joe has got to make sure that it doesn't happen to him. "
" This is my club now, this is where I work, this is my position as manager and the staff and everything is settled. As I said to you last week we've got everything organised and settled, it was in a good position when I came, it's hopefully better now because everything has calmed down. We can get back to working with what is right and that's the team and trying to win games.
" The big games have the extra edge, Leeds and Nottingham Forest, that is fair enough for everybody. If we can perform well and we can pick up these people that come on occasion, rather than every week, then they might say that they want to come back here and see some more of this because it is looking good.
" So there is a big onus on us now to make sure we work very hard to improve the attendances here, it was a little bit low and a bit disappointing on Saturday. We have got this opportunity though coming up over the next three or four weeks to try to improve that.
" I have said prior to the other games that if we could still be in the top six at the end of November and early December then we can start talking about one or two things. About pushing on and seeing where we can finish but we've got all that to come through yet. It's a tough fixture list when you look at it coming up in the next few weeks and you are certainly not going to get me making any daft predictions.
" What we need to do though is embrace it rather than worry about it, and get on with it, say that this is coming and wake up on the morning of the game rubbing our hands together and saying bring it on and let's see what we can do.
" The Johnstone's Paint Trophy will make it exciting as well, everyone will talk about Leeds, Forest etc., but then cup ties coming in between that of course. For me they will be games that I want to win, they won't be games that I want to get out of the way because we have got another big league match. They are going to be very, very important fixtures for this club and this team. "
" So it makes it more exciting that the cup ties are the one-offs, you might get away with losing a league game because next week you can get three points, as we did with Yeovil and Gillingham. In a cup tie though you are in or you are out at the end of that game and we've got to try to be in them.
" It's a massive period and the more you look at it, the more you can say - gosh, it's going to be a big burden on us. If we can keep people fit though then we will give all of these teams a good game. I think it's where substitutions come in during a game, or before your game when you are looking at people.
" Players tend not to want you to do that because they all want to play, but I think that our job on the coaching side is to view that daily on a day-to-day basis at the training ground. Look at people, talk to our medical staff and make those decisions but what people probably don't take into account when they are looking at football is the emotional aspect of the game too.
" It's massively emotional for these young people to deal with games, wins, losses, draws, whatever. Not just that but they have got things going on in their private lives which I tend to know about and another people don't because it is very personal. So there are lots of things to just take into account on an individual basis.
" We all want the team to do well but if individuals are not functioning for whatever reason in that team function then we have to make sure that it is right. What they are as well is young people, generally who have got families etc. and decisions and things, moving house and going to different environments and what have you. A lot of the things happen to them for the first time in their lives and sometimes they are not sure why or how.
" So it's up to people like you and me, a bit older and hopefully a bit wiser that have seen one or two things, just to put them straight and calm them down and get them back on with what is right in their lives. So there is a heck of a lot going on with young people and it's not just me picking a football team. It's me managing quite a large number of people and trying to get them all together to perform well at the weekend. "