Our boys showed great character last week away at Consett, who had been in good form. Truth be told, we made them look bang average. Our last home game is a warning sign to us that we cannot be complacent and, no matter who we face between now and the end of the season, we must be on top of our game. Our opponents this weekend have had a rough few games. It is our job to ensure they continue on that run.
Talking about complacency, we cannot take anything in life for granted. I had originally planned to update supporters this week on some behind-the-scenes activities, but unfortunately I have been on house arrest this week on doctor’s orders! I have had a very strange week indeed. I had my dad visiting from Ireland last weekend and, after a lot of effort, managed to get him a ticket for the Leeds and Man City game. On Saturday, of course, we enjoyed three points on the road to strengthen our place in the play-off positions. On Sunday we went out for a family meal before I planned to drop my dad off at LBA for his flight back home, before doing my Sunday ritual of watching our game back from the day before.
However, what I wasn’t planning for was a blue-light taxi ride to Calderdale Hospital after having an anaphylactic shock. I was very lucky to have my family and the wonderful West Yorkshire Ambulance crew, who acted promptly to save my life. I take my hat off to our emergency services and the wonderful staff in the NHS. What they do, given very limited resources, is remarkable and I thank them sincerely for looking after me. The moral of the story is: don’t take life for granted, and don’t leave the house without my EpiPen ever again!
You may have seen that this week we launched our new official club podcast. This has been in the making for months. Credit to Tom S, Tom O, Lewis and Liam for making it happen. It’s a great watch/listen, so please help spread the word and get your friends to tune in. This platform will be used to improve our communication with supporters. It’s very much an evolving project, so please feel free to get in touch via email at podcast@bpafc.com to put forward your questions or suggestions. We are also looking for sponsors.
I read an interview last week with Paul Clement. Paul has had a fantastic career in coaching and management, working at some of the world’s biggest clubs and with the best players in world football. He mentioned how easy it is to have an opinion on things such as team selection and tactics when you aren’t the one making the final decision. He referenced his experience in management and how different it is when you are the one making the final call. I had one game in charge and, trust me, it is not easy. What helps is having good people around you and a cohesive group of people working hard towards the same goal. I think we can safely say that’s what we have here at BPA. People will have, and are entitled to, their opinions, but ultimately we all want the same thing: promotion.
One thing is for sure: between now and the end of the season there will be lots of twists and turns. Isn’t it great to be fighting for promotion and a play-off finish at this stage of the season? As the better weather comes in (hopefully), we would love to see our crowds increase and the atmosphere improve to give our team every opportunity to perform and achieve success. Bring a friend with you on Saturday to help us get the three points we are aiming for.
Enjoy the game.