We were all delighted with the win and the performance on Saturday against a strong and well organised Oxford team. We played a lot of excellent passing football, which I am sure the fans appreciated. I would put this down as our best all-round performance for a long time and it was lovely that so many fans stayed behind to clap us off the pitch.

We have a new tune which is played when we score and hearing The Piranhas' Tom Hark seemed to help create a great atmosphere at the Vic.

One of my old school and teammates was in the papers for all the wrong reasons at the weekend. Andy Todd was sent off for kicking Christophe Dugarry in the Blackburn v Birmingham match. Andy has always had a short fuse and will be the first to admit he made a mistake, for which he will take his punishment like a man, but he is genuinely a nice lad and a very good footballer. I think the calls for him to be banned for life are ridiculous and a huge over-reaction.

It's been a bit of a hectic weekend for me - and now I'm in for some tiring times ahead. At seven o'clock yesterday morning I became a dad when Nicki gave birth to Oliver. Both are doing well, but dad is already tired!

Published: 21/01/2003