gethampshire - Reading Evening Post

This is it for me at Aldershot.

We had individual meetings with The Gaffer [Gary Waddock] on Tuesday and for me it was a case of thanking me for what I have done at Aldershot and then goodbye.

We’ve been given today off and yesterday too, so I’ve nipped up to Sheffield to watch my brother, Ryan, in the World Championships at The Crucible Theatre.

He’s taking on Stephen Lee in the first round. Lee has good qualities but Ryan is the firm favourite and he’s looking relaxed, so hopefully he will come through that one OK.

The ankle is coming on really well and I have been running on it this week and even doing some ball work. Hopefully by the end of next week I might be back in training and, with a few reserves matches still to come, I may get some minutes under my belt in those.

So, the Lincoln game at the end of the season is still a target for me. It would be great to play again for Aldershot.

I ran for the first time after my ankle injury on Tuesday and I’ve suffered no reaction, which is great news.

I may yet be back this season and that last game, at Lincoln, is still a target.

I saw the doctor on Tuesday about my ankle and the news was good.

It has really settled down and I am getting no pain from it. The doctor was really pleased and I feel quite upbeat about things as he said I do not need an operation, if the ankle continues to heal as it has over the last fortnight.

It's been a great week or so for the team, with three good results.

I didn't see the Rotherham win — injured players tend not to travel to away games — but I hear we played really well and were solid again.

To play a team like Shrewsbury, who are chasing promotion, and keep a clean sheet, was a credit to all 11 players on Tuesday night.

Especially after Saturday; it shows we have a bit about us, to come back from losing 5-0 and then not to concede.

Tuesday night at Bournemouth was very disappointing for us all.

Having won so well on Saturday at home against Accrington Stanley, it was especially disappointing not to follow that victory with a win.

Today’s reserves’ match at home to Reading will be an important one for a number of us.

We have a strong team out, including me, and it will be a chance for us all to stake a claim for a first team recall and show The Gaffer that we desperately want to be in the team.

The Gillingham game was a bit of a lively one, wasn’t it?

I’m sure it made for very entertaining viewing for spectators but, as a player and a defender, it made for difficult viewing at times.

I am fully fit and in contention for the game down at Exeter on Saturday.

I would not have made the Port Vale game but I passed a mini fitness test on Monday morning back at training, so my hamstring is fine.

We couldn’t train on either Monday or Tuesday, due to the weather.

I live just up the road from Aldershot, in Farnborough, but many of the players are based further afield, coming from London and beyond, and Monday was a no-go, with the M25 and the like closed.

We all know that Tuesday’s night defeat at Brentford was disappointing. But what for me was the worst thing was that it looked like a few of the boys gave up.

That is not good to see. At 2-0 down you never know what might happen. If you get a goal things can change quickly. But I looked into the eyes of a few of the boys and they had given up.

It would be interesting to see the possession stats from Tuesday’s game against Notts County.

They completely dominated the ball and it simply was not good enough from us.

Fortunately it’s been fairly mild at the start of the week and we’ve finally been back training on the grass pitch.

We had an XI v XI ‘match’ at Monday’s training; after nearly three weeks without a game, it was good to play a bit of football.