Stevie boy making it up as he goes along-he has a point.

There’s no denying Gillingham are on a great undefeated run. On Saturday we saw how it’s done. I don’t think any of us can lay claim to going nearer than anyone else in ending it.

Yes the Steve Evans roadshow rumbled into town, that’s him rumbling in not the team bus. If anything you get even more of Steve for your money since that sprint down the line on the occasion of his last visit to the city. At least we were spared that but you have to say for a big chap he can certainly move. You don’t have to be that close to hear him either. My mate Stewart reckons that accent may be Ayrshire but I can tell him the great man hails from Glasgow, why am I not surprised? Glasgow these days is somewhat gentrified, cosmopolitan even but Stevie boy is from the get your revenge in first school and we got the full repertoire on Saturday. Verbally that is although, as per usual the super manager had a go at taking things further with Michael Appleton before being, as we have all heard by now, “put back in his box”.

Once out of the box Evans proceeded to give an appraisal of the game that would have left me wondering if he had been there at all had I not seen it for myself. Lincoln were the thugs, big bruisers Lincoln City. There was me thinking we were a bit lightweight, just goes to show what the expert eye can detect.

I said to the lady who sits the other side of me I thought Gillingham were a true reflection of their manager, she agreed with me. Niggly, combative, a bit nasty but staying just this side of the rules, well according to our referee they were, you may disagree, I certainly did. I thought they got away with a lot and yet we suffered the red card. Maybe Evans was right, we could certainly learn from Gillingham’s game plan. We’re not a big team but you have to look after yourself and look after your opponent too. Maybe now Bozzie’s back he could do a masterclass.

As to City I think we’re seeing improvement all the time. It’s still not translating in to wins but it looks to me that we’re moving in the right direction. Anyone who didn’t pick up the warnings that it was going to be a marathon not a sprint wasn’t listening as far as I’m concerned. I don’t go in for social media to any great extent myself, I can’t be doing with negativity. What you read on here is what I think and what I think is that the momentum is still there. We’re on the motorway and into fifth gear if not sixth but it certainly looks like the club on and off the pitch are going in the right direction.

There were just a couple of occasions in my time as a fan when City looked like they might get to the heady heights of championship level. On both occasions the bid failed due to lack of investment or more correctly lack of money. We’re not awash with cash, it’s going to take some wheeling and dealing but the will is there and the understanding of how to achieve further advancement is there too.

There will be lots more days like Saturday, we’re going to have to learn to accept these small steps towards our goal for what they are although I do have to say the mood of the crowd as we all trooped home seemed more positive than it has been for a while.

Hear no evil, speak no evil.

Regular readers will know I sit in the Selenity stand. It used to be called the library but it’s not that quiet. It’s not a hotbed of discontent either and judging by what I hear of other parts of the stadium that’s something to be applauded. It was of course the realm of the old gits for want of a better expression. In fact, when an attempt to revive the Deranged Ferret was made I think one of my efforts at humour was entitled just that in some of my own contribution.

I also don’t pay a lot of attention to much of the social media output. You may think that keeps me out of the loop and you may be right but I just don’t want to spend my time reading armchair experts theories of what’s going wrong at the moment.

One of the reasons I don’t want to read that stuff is, to be honest I don’t think all that much is going wrong. The team sit at fourteenth in the table with well over half the fixtures fulfilled, Bolton are a basket case, holed below the water line by the powers that be, Southend are gonners despite our charity last weekend and Tranmere can only match what we’re doing at the moment.

One thing I did read, from some expert, is that he or she, I didn’t pay too much attention, could not believe people are happy to accept the status quo. Is that the fact that we’re two divisions above where we were, in mid table with the finish line in sight? You bet I accept it would be my response.

Watching City isn’t particularly easy at the moment, I’ll grant you that but unacceptable? I think some people need to get the history books out and research what many of us have been witnessing over the years. Maybe it was one of the fans who have known only success in terms of league position very recently. I don’t remember pure joy even over the last successful seasons though, there were as many turkeys of games as triumphs or maybe I’ve been watching something different to them.

Another thing that made me laugh. Someone in the posh seats next to where we ruffians sit left the game seven or eight minutes early. That in itself tells you what kind of “fan” they are. I can’t remember what the state of the game was, presumably we were trying to rescue the match as it was recently, anyway, this individual took the time, on the way out, to berate the manager, a futile gesture given that he could be neither seen nor heard, I just wondered at the mentality given all the home success we’ve enjoyed this season at home. Talk about can’t please all the people all the time.

Anyway, Accrington Stanley, away. In a gale. Should be interesting and I’m not going to pretend we couldn’t do with a win. Whether that will make or break the season is questionable.

Some you win (apparently).

I trudged away from the Rotherham defeat feeling quite chipper, subscribing to the notion that once this game was out of the way some rather more winnable fixtures would come along.

Leaving aside a supposed away banker, Southend, City could surely mop up a few more points to assure safety and leave Michael Appleton the summer recess to plot and scheme, hopefully, a more productive second season in league one.

That may well be the case but on last nights evidence it’s not going to be a particularly easy watch as City stuttered and failed to get to grips with one of the sides who came up with us last year and have had an even greater struggle than ourselves.

Yet, looking at the other results, things mainly went our way. I’ve often thought, now that we’ve got a bit more experience of it, how many games a team has to win to achieve a championship. Similarly a relegated team usually takes a fair bit of punishment. Fortunately the Imps banked a good few points in the early part of the season and I remain convinced that, even now, hopefully, City will be safe despite the alarming slump in form.

We all know how that slump came about and I can’t in all honesty say I disagree with the policy, I just wonder if the current football business model will hold up next season.

Anyway, we haven’t got there yet. Alan Hansen once famously said you can’t win anything with kids. Can you however survive with a mainly youthful team? You need some wise old heads to steady the ship surely? Well on last nights evidence it was a couple (at least) of experienced pro’s who were the worst offenders. I don’t normally single anyone out for making mistakes but Shackell has made a habit of it lately, either that or unwise passes that went wrong from the one player who, in terms of experience and ability ought to be most comfortable with playing out from the back. For me it was his inadvisable or badly executed pass that led to the free kick whereby MK Dons took a very early lead, a lead that City found, as usual, extremely difficult to turn around. Maybe it was as well it came so early the Imps had almost all the game to put right. Having conceded the kick could Vickers made more of a job of saving it? Plenty around me thought so.

Other than that I suppose we should be generous and say the weather had a bearing on the game, it was the same for both sides though. Talking of generous the manager said he thought the ball might have taken a bobble just as Hesketh’s foot made contact with it when it only needed side footing into the goal, he couldn’t suppress an inadvertent laugh when he said it though. That and John-Jules’ attempt hitting the bar. He, in mitigation I’d say had an energetic game and he’s not the only player to miss a sitter in the last couple of games is he Harry?

On we go, another winnable game against Stanley to come. Another struggling side who have had a bit of a renaissance recently. Lucky? You can’t accuse us of that lately for sure.

Turn back? Why, we only just got here.

On the face of it we haven’t had the greatest of weeks. Major figures at the club have gone and been replaced with unknown quantities. I’ll tell you something else having listened to Liam Scully, that’s the way it’s going to be.

You didn’t have to read between the lines of Scully’s interview on BBC Radio Lincolnshire to get the picture. The club judge that the points gathered so far and the prospect of gaining more are sufficient to enable the club to cut the wage bill for this season and to begin phase two. Gathering a youthful team, bring some of those players through the ranks and eventually sell them on to underpin the bid for continued success.

I’ve harped on about Peterborough United in this blog and on BBC Radio Lincolnshire my view of the future was expounded upon by none other than Steve Thompson. Maybe he reads the blog. It’s not rocket science though, locate young telent, get them in the first team, sell on.

Brentford were held out to be a model for us, yes please would be my response to that, look a little closer to home according to our friendly local pundit. As you know if you read my theories regularly, my thoughts exactly.

As for the present, we are where we are. The spending that propelled us to league one is officially over, Tyler Walkers departure was not welcomed but is fact, the players brought in are the squad, except for a mystery signing that may or may not materialise but don’t expect it to be Jamie Vardy’s long lost brother.

I’m a baby boomer. However much we may moan and groan about the way of the world and the way the country’s going we’ve never had it so good. Similarly there are fans of our football club who have only known success. Probably not readers of this blog but they will be out there. Well, those days are, for the moment, over. The new reality is difficult games, steady progress, some disappointments along the way. No magic fix, no new Messiah. Alone again, naturally.

Except it’s not quite that scary. At least the club have a map, a clear path to follow. We supporters have to do the only thing we can. Support.

It’s not been an easy week, not been an easy season. Nothing worthwhile is usually easy. We found our level last season, now we’re above it. The club intend to stay here until something better can be achieved.

Actually, I can’t wait.