You know something? Finishing in third place behind teams who got 102 and 91 points respectively ain’t bad! In fact, in some years, our total of 79 points would be enough to get automatic promotion, so considering where we were a year ago and the spending power of the two teams above us, I would suggest this season has already proven to be nothing less than an unqualified success.

The other point worth making is that Billy Davies was right when he said that last summer’s spending spree merely closed the gap between us and the others – we have a significantly smaller squad than most of the other teams in the division, and were probably the only team in the top half of the division to end up with a weaker squad in February than we had the previous month! Let’s hope that frustration at the Acquisitions Panel does not lead to Billy leaving us any time soon; despite my misgivings about the man, you cannot deny he has done a sterling job as manager.

So Blackpool beach it is then, with a tiny ticket allocation of 1600, and Ian Holloway insisting that Blackpool have nothing to lose. I have read (but cannot provide any links to substantiate it) that the idea that the sixth-placed team usually does well while the team in third crashes and burns is actually nothing more than a myth. Either way, despite the Tangerines being the only team to do the double over us, I would still suggest that the other teams in the play-offs are probably more scared of us than we are of them.

Win or lose in the play-offs: what a season, what a team, what a squad and what a fine job by our manager.

COME ON YOU REDS!