It was a shock to discover Bolton at the top of the league. Unfortunately, it was the wrong league, the Covid-19 league.

In response to Matt Hancock closing our pubs and restaurants again, I had to hurriedly check my beer supplies. Fortunately, I have got enough to keep me going for a while and I now really appreciate my daughter’s thoughtful Father’s Day present, a home brewing kit.

It was an early kick-off for our second look at the new Wanderers against the Railwaymen from Crewe. It was an EFL Trophy match against a team that had stuffed us 3-0 in a friendly a couple of weeks ago.

It gave Ian Evatt the chance to give a few more players a run out with Harry Brockbank, Ali Crawford, and Jak Hickman all starting.

The first half was underwhelming again with Crewe looking the much sharper team and it was no surprise when we went one down to a free header. The defence looked wide open at times and the attack was not creating much.

Evatt seems to be putting something in their tea at half-time because we were much better in the second half, particularly going forward. We got two good goals from Ryan Delaney and the impressive Shaun Miller, but our defensive frailties let us down in the end, conceding the late penalty to lose the match.

Overall, it was a better performance than Saturday’s but there is still a lot to work on, particularly in defence. The back three need to work on their understanding but the rest of the team need to provide better defensive cover. We looked very good at times going forward in the second half, but we always looked vulnerable to the counter-attack. But it will come no doubt.

I think that we now have a more realistic view of the task ahead.

It is a mammoth job to bring in a whole new squad and make them into a team. Normally when bringing in new players, if half of them come good, then that is an exceptionally good rate of success.

We have brought 17 in and we are hoping for better. I think that we will get there, and it will be fairer to assess our chances after about a dozen league games, when I hope that we are challenging in the top half of League Two.