ON the back of the Stafford Rangers defeat people are writing our title chances off -- but there are still 13 games to go with plenty of twists and turns to come.

Of course, for us to put ourselves back in contention we need to put a very good run together and eradicate the inconsistencies that have surfaced too often in recent weeks.

We established ourselves as serious contenders during the first third of the season, maintained our position in the second third and now it's into the nitty-gritty that will decide the outcome.

January and February are tough months to negotiate and the clubs that emerge the stronger are likely to be challenging to be champions.

But it's not a foregone conclusion -- remember Arsenal earlier in the season when they were going to go unbeaten all through the season then suddenly they go and lose four on the bounce.

Things can change and it's about how quickly you recover from your setbacks.

I don't want to dwell on injuries because people think you are making excuses and of course everyone gets them but a quick look at the players in the stand on Saturday said it all.

There have been players missing all season and the ones left have been in at the deep end and done extremely well to keep us involved in the title race.

We've had sympathy and some back-handed compliments for the way we've coped, but that doesn't hide the fact that we have slipped off the pace.

This is a little surprising because after our Tamworth victory you would have thought we had the momentum to crack on. But we again had a number of players who have not been fully fit like Pat Lyons and Darren Middleton and that has hampered us.

The most frustrating thing is that having got ourselves in good positions we've then not enjoyed the best of luck.

As I mentioned everyone has injuries as well as suspensions but I don't know any club which has suffered to the degree we have.

I think the supporters can be pleased with what the players have given in terms of attitude and commitment. We now need to polish that off in a really positive way.

If we don't end up winning the league, lets do our best to be second, and if not second then third -- we want to finish as well as possible and set it up for next season.

There are a number of transfer targets that we've identified that as yet we have not been able to sign but they remain on our list and somewhere down the line they might well happen.

It took us a while to get players like Danny McDonnell and Jon Holloway but I don't think anybody would argue with their contributions to City's cause over recent years.

If the players are good enough they are always worth waiting for and I've never been one to boost the numbers just for the sake of it -- patience is the key.

JOHN BARTON was talking to reporter NAT SYLVESTER.