I WAS absolutely delighted to win both of our games over the Easter period and also the character the players showed to get six points out of six.

After the Hartlepool game on Monday, we had Daniel Bentley with a broken nose, John White with two stitches and Cian Bolger and Adam Barrett both with black eyes and to me that summed up the spirit of the side.

The back four put their bodies on the line and that’s the mentality I want from my team.

Adam Barrett has performed heroically since getting his chance in the team and Cian Bolger has come in and done very well alongside him too.

It was obviously very unfortunate for Adam Thompson to pick up the shoulder problem but it’s given Cian an opportunity he has made the most of so far.

It’s been hard for Cian at times this season and he’s found himself out of the team.

But we had Thommo doing well alongside Luke Prosser for a while and Jerome Binnom-Williams also did a great job there for six or seven games.

I certainly don’t just pick a team on whether or not I like certain players, it’s about what is best for us to win the game.

That is what I will continue to do and it’s another important game against Tranmere on Saturday now.

Whether or not we can get up into the top three I’m not sure but we will just win as many games as we can and see where that takes us.

JAKE CASSIDY TOOK OPPORTUNITY AT HARTLEPOOL

I DECIDED to bring Jake Cassidy back into the side at Hartlepool and I was pleased by how he performed.

He’s also had some hard times since coming to us on loan from Wolves but I thought Monday was one of the best games he’s had since being here.

I changed it around a bit after Joe Pigott had scored one goal in his last seven games but it’s good to have this level of competition.

It’s also been great that Will Atkinson has been able to find his goalscoring touch.

He’s scored two in his last two games and brings so much to the team when he plays.

His work rate sets the tone for the team and means that we press our opponents high up the pitch which is exactly what we want to see.

STEPHEN McLAUGHLIN COULD BE ONE OF THE SIGNINGS OF THE SEASON

STEPHEN McLaughlin has now got his loan spell started and I truly believe he could be one of the signings of the season.

Whenever he gets on the ball he asks the opposition questions and I like what I’ve seen from him so far.

We now have a few very different types of wingers with David Worrall, Kevan Hurst and Myles Weston also available along with Will Atkinson who is doing a good job there at the moment.

But all of them get crosses into the box and whoever we have in attack will definitely be getting chances.

PFA END OF SEASON AWARDS TIME

IT’S that time of year again when we’ve been voting for the PFA end of season awards.

We had to select who we felt were the top players in League Two and my votes went to Burton Albion’s Stuart Beavon, Shrewsbury Town’s Ryan Woods and Luton Town’s Nathan Doyle.

In terms of Premier League player of the year, I think I would go for Diego Costa at Chelsea.

I love a goalscorer but he’s also very aggressive and is exactly the type of number nine I like.

He’s hugely important for Chelsea and if he’s out for five or six weeks with the hamstring injury he has at the moment I wouldn’t be surprised if Arsenal and Manchester United were able to close the gap on them.