WE HAVE spent the whole week looking forward to getting back out on the pitch after suffering back-to-back defeats in the league, not something we’ve endured too often in my time here.

We are going to have difficult times, if anything we probably overachieved in 2013 and it has raised expectation levels, but you are tested when things go against you.

We want to stay where we are in the division, to push as high as we can, but it is of course really disappointing to have lost at Burton and at home to Northampton Town.

I don’t think we deserved any different at Burton, they were the better team, but we should’ve got something out of Northampton.

We gave away two sloppy goals and the first of those was my fault as my man got away from me too easily and we also missed too many chances, some great ones.

I am big enough and ugly enough to admit I had a bad game, I enjoyed the plaudits when I scored the goals and was getting a lot of praise and I had a chat with the gaffer on the first goal and held my hands up.

We are having a bit of trouble at the moment with scoring goals, but I have complete faith in the attackers we already have at the club. With that said, it’s great the gaffer has been able to bring Rene Howe in and add him as a new option.

He’s different to the other strikers that we’ve got, he’s a very good presence, I’ve played against him a few times and on his day he’s pretty much unplayable, he’s big and strong and links things up with his back to goal. That can only help us.

It is exciting to have him here and he gives us a different dimension.

I don’t have any qualms about our other strikers scoring though, the goals will come because they are working hard enough and that tends to correct itself if you work for it.

Going back to the Northampton result, it kind of reminded me a little bit of the nightmare start we made to 2013 when we lost 5-0 at home to Forest Green Rovers.

Even though it wasn’t 5-0, against Forest Green we created a lot of chances and then gave away silly goals, but there were elements to that Barrow game as well with the weather and we won’t pretend we weren’t disappointed.

But we all know how last season turned out. If it’s the same story this time, no one is going to mind too much that we didn’t beat Northampton and it’ll be forgotten.

Looking ahead to today, Accrington will be a very tough game. I’ve been there a few times and it’s always a battle and of course, because they are fighting for their lives, it’s even more so.

Away from the club, I was really surprised to hear this week that our bogey team Kidderminster Harriers have sacked their manager Steve Burr.

Steve turned down the Forest Green job, but maybe loyalty only works one way these days.

He’s done a decent job, they were very unlucky not to win the league last season; it is a baffling one.

I was asked about Thomas Hitzlsperger coming out this week and whether I think a gay player could reveal it publicly before he retires. I don’t see why not.

You get all sorts of banter in the dressing room for all manner of things, there isn’t much off limits, everything is bandied about, but the players know not to cross the line.

It wouldn’t bother me to share the dressing room with gay players, I think it took guts for him and Robbie Rogers to come out and fair play to them.

It’s really not an issue in this day and age. If you are gay, so what? I take people as I find them and I think most dressing rooms would have the same attitude.