FIVE weeks ago, we were preparing to head to Leamington following a couple of games where we had cheaply thrown the lead away to only get draws. It felt like our season was at a pivotal point.

The pressure on the players and the management was massive. If we had lost, I think most fans including myself would have found it hard to see a way out of the relegation mire. As it was, we won with an injury time goal from Stephen Thompson. Those precious three points gave us hope. Subsequently, three more wins from the next four games have left us dreaming the dream most Darlo fans of a certain age are used to – the prospect of mid-table mediocrity.

The turnaround in our fortunes has been quite remarkable. Prior to Saturday’s win over Kidderminster Harriers, I was a little concerned that some of the air might have been let out of our tyres following the humbling 3-0 defeat at Brackley Town the previous week. Kiddy are an excellent side and a full-time outfit who could have come to Blackwell Meadows and punished any doubts lurking following defeat. Instead, what we saw was a good performance from an increasingly youthful Darlo side that had enough quality to get the job done but more importantly had the mental fortitude to deal with conceding an equaliser.

Had this game taken place in January, there’s a very good chance Kidderminster’s equaliser would have resulted in a collapse of morale and almost certain defeat; especially considering the manner in which the equaliser came about following an error from goalkeeper Aynsley Pears. Instead, it seemed to fortify our resolve. It was needed as Kidderminster smelt blood and pressed us but ultimately, it was that little magician Stephen Thompson who came up with the killer blow in injury time once again. Ironically, it was almost a replay of his winning goal at Leamington. It came from nothing with the game having fizzled out and fans heading for the exit. With Thompson, you expect the unexpected and this was typical of the little maestro.

While the results were slow to come in Tommy Wright’s tenure, performances were improving, both as a team and individually. It was evident that certain players thrived more under Wright than the previous Darlo manager. Thompson is the shining example of that. No player has perked up more since the managerial change and the change in his fortunes has been nothing short of remarkable. While Wright played around with his formations, it felt like Thompson had been nullified by being asked to play a more defensive role but now he is back where he can do the most damage, he has been absolutely sensational.

Speaking of sensational, I was delighted to see our youthful centre half pairing of Josh Heaton and Jack Vaulks put in excellent performances. When I saw the team sheet, I was surprised to see Vaulks included and, I’ll be honest, I was a little concerned that against such good opposition he might have struggled. Turns out there was nothing to worry about. Guided by 21-year-old Heaton, a relative veteran in comparison, Vaulks dealt with pretty much everything that was asked of him. After a couple of encouraging cameos earlier in the season, there has been a bit of a clamour from fans to see more of him, especially when we have struggled at times in the centre of defence. Wright has clearly thought highly of him but held him back, probably for his own good. Like some of the other players who have thrived under Wright, now is probably time for Wright to let the young centre half flourish and stake his claim.