I THINK it’s absolutely fantastic news that Britt Assombalonga will be staying with us until the end of the season – and that’s coming from another centre forward looking to get back in the team when fit!

Britt has been brilliant for us this year and he is a real goal threat every time he goes out on to the pitch.

He’s a fantastic lad and I’ve written before about how I think he will go on to enjoy a fantastic career in the game.

But for him to be staying with us on loan from Watford until the end of the season is a real statement of intent from the manager and the chairman and really does prove that we want to push on and get promotion this season.

Hopefully the other two very influential loan players we have – Marc Laird and Tamika Mkandawire – will also stay for longer and we can continue the run of good results we’re on.

A 2-2 draw against Bradford City last time out made it 12 matches unbeaten and I thought it was a fantastic game.

It was a great advert for League Two football and, in the end, we showed real character to come back to earn a point with two late goal.

Spirit and togetherness is a huge part of football and it’s important to socialise as a squad to get the bonding you need.

With that in mind we headed out for our Christmas party at the weekend which included some nice food, a few drinks and a day out at the darts.

Everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves and many of us are still talking about the waistcoat Freddy Eastwood was wearing.

When we first saw him we thought someone had invited John Virgo along and he was definitely dressed for snooker rather than the darts.

In all seriousness, we actually had to stop on the way up to allow Freddy to buy a horse too, but it was enjoyable evening and one which, I’m sure, has done us the world of good.

Since then we’ve been working very hard in preparation for the Chesterfield game on Friday and that should be another entertaining game.

Without wanting to jinx things, they normally have lots of goals in their matches and have real strength in depth in attacking areas.

It’s a big game for both teams and, while I know it’s an expensive time of year, I hope our fans can dig deep and come out in big numbers to support us.

We’re playing really well at the moment and the atmosphere at Roots Hall can be very special on a Friday night so I’m hoping it will be like that tomorrow.

FULL COLUMN IN THURSDAY'S ECHO