On Coronation Day, we headed for the marina area at Portishead, near Bristol, for an overnight stay, like many other Wanderers fans, prior to our last league match at the Memorial Stadium.

The rest of the White Army faced an early-morning start ahead of the lunchtime kick off. Their patchwork stadium was full to capacity and there was a party atmosphere with many fans going in fancy dress - pizzas seemed to be in fashion.

The Pirates fans, who these days prefer to be known as ‘The Gas’, were most welcoming, and the local Butcombe ale went down a treat as we heard the team news. As the pressure was off us, Ian Evatt made wholesale changes, taking the opportunity to rest players and use his full squad. He even appeared to rest himself for the first half, leaving Peter Atherton in charge on the bench.

We were already in the play-offs and everybody had their views on who they wanted to face in the semi-finals. It turned out to be a highly-entertaining match, which ebbed and flowed. Despite all our changes and further disruption with injuries to Ricardo Santos and most worryingly, Gethin Jones, we played some great football with goals from Shola Shoretire, Dan Nlundulu and Aaron Morley. As you would expect from any team under Joey Barton, Bristol Rovers mounted a spirited comeback, nearly snatching an equaliser at the end.

Most Bolton fans were glued to their mobile phones, following the action at Sheffield Wednesday and Barnsley. We now face Barnsley in the semi-final, while Peterborough United take on Wednesday. These are going to be hard games. All these teams are there on merit after a long season. All kinds of stats are being produced on social media, based on past meetings between the clubs but to me these count for nothing. It is all about getting the result on the day. We are potentially three matches from putting the icing on what already has been a very decent cake.

Fans are beginning to worry about players for next season but let’s finish this season first. We have clearly progressed this season and Evatt’s contract extension is welcome evidence we are moving forward together. The Wanderers are back on an upwards path. Let’s enjoy getting behind them and see where it takes us.