IT’S been a great week on the pitch with two hard-fought 1-0 wins but the big talking point has been the attendance at Rodney Parade on Tuesday night.

The gaffer spoke out about his concerns after only 2,500 fans watched us beat a very good Southend side and I think he was right.

I fully understand that it costs a lot to watch football these days and I think the club does need to do more about attracting people through the turnstiles – it’s a two-way thing.

The special offers for today are a good idea and hopefully they’ll have the desired effect.

It’s not my job really but I think the Swindon game in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy should have been reduced heavily and more should be done to attract younger fans.

It’s simple really – the bigger crowds we get the more money the club makes and the better players we can bring in.

I love playing in front of bigger crowds and I’d love to see another couple of thousand people at Rodney Parade.

Being realistic I think there is definitely another thousand people who could be coming regularly to our games.

We know times are tough but we’ve been playing some good stuff at home.

It’s not like we’re bottom of the league – we’re a point off the play-offs.

Apart from the other night the football has been very good. In the games against Cambridge and Northampton I thought we were outstanding.

And your support can only help us as we look to continue the progress we’ve made over the last ten or 11 games.

A key part of our improved form has obviously been our goalkeeper Joe Day.

He’s been brilliant since he arrived on loan from Peterborough and his penalty save the other night was the latest in a string of game-changing moments from him.

If we manage to keep Joe that would be the best signing we’ve made since I’ve been here because I think he’s got a great future ahead of him.

He’s been incredible since he’s arrived and he’s a winner, which is the most important thing.

I wish we’d done the deal earlier because now he’s probably going to cost us a little bit more but hopefully we can get it done as quickly as possible.

In front of Joe there have been a lot of injuries and players playing with knocks, me included, and that has meant others playing out of position and often coming back earlier than they should.

It’s been a real scrap and it just shows the value of a strong team spirit.

And the fact that they’ve come in such difficult circumstances makes these wins even more satisfying.

My hamstring is still not 100 per cent and we’re just managing it at the moment and trying to do the best we can.

I didn’t feel it too much the other night but it did feel tight before the game so I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn’t go again.

I’ve enjoyed the last few games and I like to think I’ve made a good impact when I’ve come off the bench but the most important thing is that we’ve been grinding out the wins.

We have to do that when we’re not playing at our best and when we’re down to the bare bones and I think we’ve done brilliantly to climb to eighth in the league over the past week.

The youth team are at Portsmouth this morning looking to build on a good result against Oxford last week.

Tom Owen-Evans played and scored in a 1-0 win and the boys were buzzing after the match.

We’ve still got a lot to work on and they are nowhere near the finished article but you can see now that they’re actually learning and thinking about the game and that’s all you can hope for.

I’ve also been keeping tabs on Regan Poole who has been out in Belarus representing Wales under-17s this week.

I spoke to Regan and he’s been enjoying his time with the squad. He was an unused substitute for the first two games but it’s a great experience for him and it reflects well on the club. I’m proud as punch for him.

Being away from your friends and family for ten days at his age is a big thing but he’ll learn a lot out there.