A QUARTER of the season has now gone and I think we are in a position to make progress.

It was important to give ourselves a platform on which to build after the first set of games and we have done that.

A gap has opened up between us and the play-off positions because the top teams keep winning, but if we can win two or three games that gap will close.

When we saw our opening fixtures we were worried we could be where Hucknall find themselves, at the bottom, and really fighting to get back into the picture.

We could do with being closer to the leaders but I think it's an OK situation. There's room for improvement but we are in the chasing pack just outside the top 10.

Hopefully after the next 11 games we will be that much closer to the top five and if we are it will be an exciting second-half to the season.

We have adapted well to our early-season injury problems in defence which I think were the reason we were conceding so many goals. I think we have tightened up a lot at the back since the start of the campaign although we conceded three at Alfreton and two at Boston.

The Alfreton game was poor throughout but I thought we defended pretty well at Boston last Saturday.

The quick free-kick for their first should never have been given but the second was from a corner and we have to do better with set-pieces, which was our problem at the start of the season.

Ryan Clarke has shown his versatility and he's had a really good start for us. He's been caught out a couple of times at set-pieces, which is something he needs to improve on, but generally he's been one of our better players in this period of games and I have been pleased with him.

Patrece Liburd and Peter Doran have also done well, while Paul Barratt has been a definite plus for us.

We are getting close to a settled team where the players are used to how each other plays, which is important, and we still have Rapinder Gill, Shabir Khan and Adam Burley to come back.

I hope they find it difficult to get back in the team because that will mean we are doing well. That's what having a squad is about.

Mark Danks and Graham Ward are improving so I am hoping to have all those players back by the time the Southport game comes around.

It might be only Adam Burley who is not available when it comes to that game on October 20.

Things are going to plan at the moment but there's a long time between now and then, although having everyone fit would be a nice position to be in.

Striker Troy Wood is also pushing for a starting place but he's just carrying a bit too much weight at the moment.

We had a chat with him and set targets for him to try and lose five pounds in four weeks, which isn't massive, and he's struggling to do that.

It will help him and I think we will see better from Troy although he took his goal well on Saturday.