TOWN’S recent improvement at home continued last weekend as Luke Norris’ first league goal for the club helped Tim Sherwood’s side to a credible draw over play-off chasing Fleetwood Town.

It’s fair to say Norris has endured a poor first six months at the County Ground, but that hasn’t put off the management at Town as he’s now made the most outfield appearances at the club this season.

That sentence pretty much sums up our 2016/17 campaign in a nutshell.

Reading through the teamsheet on Saturday, I was surprised to see the return of Jermaine Hylton to the Town starting XI.

Up until a couple of weeks ago, Hylton was out of favour and was sent out on loan to Guiseley, who ply their trade in the National League, earlier this season.

To the shock of many, he returned from Yorkshire, and on Saturday the decision to send him away to non-league football looked an odd one, as he was by far the best player on the pitch.

Hylton looked far more confidant on the ball as he consistently took on defenders and was a thorn in the side of the Fleetwood back-line throughout.

I’m excited to see an eventual partnership between Hylton and Jonathan Obika, when the latter returns from injury.

Also on Saturday, it was refreshing to hear the owner and chairman Lee Power being open and honest about the season so far.

Power said: “We have under-performed this year, we have made mistakes on the players we have brought in and the team themselves have to take a lot of responsibility.”

It’s reassuring to hear the chairman admit his mistakes, as the club failed last summer to build a well-balanced squad for head coach Luke Williams.

Power also added: “We want to get that window open and try to do some business as quickly as we can.”

As a Town fan, it’s exciting to hear that this squad will have new members soon.

Both the heart of the defence and midfield need experienced heads to help make 2017 a much better year than the 12 months we’ve just endured.

Finally, I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

Follow me on Twitter @danwjonson

Readers who submit articles must agree to our terms of use. The content is the sole responsibility of the contributor and is unmoderated. But we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention. If you wish to complain about this article, contact us here

Readers who submit articles must agree to our terms of use. The content is the sole responsibility of the contributor and is unmoderated. But we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention. If you wish to complain about this article, contact us here