FOOTBALL can have a blinding effect on objectivity at times. Most will deny it, but almost inevitably they’ve been hit by it. For me, it was last Saturday in South Northamptonshire.

At the end of a hard-fought game with a pretty decent Brackley side, I walked out of the ground feeling pretty disappointed. A solitary point when we had taken the lead twice; both goals crackers as well. Either goal deserved to win the game but they didn’t.

Once again, poor defending was our downfall. For the first goal, inadequate marking in the box although you can’t mitigate for the guy handling the ball over the line. A quick look on the highlights shows the muted celebration of a player who had gotten away with one.

The second goal was more about being out of shape following one of our own attacks. As so often this season, we look vulnerable to the counter attack. With the majority of the midfield out of position on their way back, you can just about make out on the highlights Martin Gray frantically telling people to get over to the left where the ball came in from before the looping header evaded Paul Woolston in goal.

That goal pretty much summed up the day. It felt like Brackley were there for the taking but as it turned out, they actually did far more with the ball going forward than we did. I’ve not seen the match stats, but I’m guessing they had more chances on goal and the lion’s share of the corners.

Other teams will hit the rocks on their trip there. Indeed, Brackley went to much-fancied Kidderminster earlier in the season and won. As such, a point is a decent result. The frustration of not holding on will die down, although our inability to keep clean sheets or hold on to a lead will once again be at the forefront of Gray’s mind. At some point, this needs rectifying. You can’t do all the hard work to get ahead only for sloppy goals to be conceded at the back. Hopefully, Kevin Burgess’ return is not too far away now, allowing for the first choice back four to come back together in their normal positions.

The night before the Brackley game, the club’s latest fans forum was once again a source of positive news, with the announcement that Gray had signed a new contract. While there will always be interest in a successful manager, I have little doubt that he will not head off for pastures new. For me, I see it more as a statement of intent. Despite all the promotions, the job isn’t yet done. The next five years won’t be as victory-laden as the last four, but the task is different now. It will be a challenge going forward to bring further success but if anyone can do it, it’s Martin Gray.

Saturday sees us face up against middle of the road Gainsborough Trinity. Like some of the other sides that we’ve faced recently, Gainsborough have dabbled with the Football League although they are almost exclusively known as a non-league side. The Holy Blues are part of the furniture at this level, having been a founder member of the Conference North back in 2004 and have remained ever since.

Gainsborough had a poor start to the season but have picked up of late although they have a dreadful away record, securing just one point from six games. As such, this is a game we should be targeting three points from and, dare I say it, a clean sheet.