Derby day against the Seasiders; Bright autumnal day; Another bumper crowd expected; The Wanderers on a good run; Blackpool on a decent run of their own; A tight, exciting match in prospect; What’s not to get excited about?

Well, the Doombar deliberations were full of the usual doom mongers: ‘we don’t play well in big matches, ‘all good runs come to an end’, and the usual kiss of death following the award of manager of the month to Ian Evatt. Some people would have us beat before we kick a ball. I don’t hold with any of that, every game is a different challenge.

There was a cracking atmosphere in the stadium as the teams were announced - Bolton unchanged from Tuesday night’s great win against Shrewsbury. After Phil Mason led the Armistice commemorations, respectfully observed by all, the first half was competitive with lots of huffing and puffing by both sides but little quality in the final third, although Blackpool did hit the post early on.

In the second half, things got better but a goalless draw looked increasingly more likely until up stepped George Thomasson to fire a rocket shot, after being teed up by Jon Dadi Bodvarsson. It was a goal worthy of winning any match. There was never going to be much between the teams, but this was it. We had found a way to win and silence all the doom mongers. Blackpool huffed and puffed even more but could not blow our defence down. Another three points in the chase for promotion.

We’ve got the international break now as we have four players called up, five if you include Conor Carty with the Ireland Under-21s. This is a measure of how well we are developing our squad.

We are no pushovers these days and have players on the bench who can make an impact. It is still early days, with just over a third of the season gone. Nothing is won until the end of April. But we are doing alright. Confidence and expectations are growing. Our next two away matches are against the top two teams in League One, Oxford United and Portsmouth. Let’s stay positive and take each game as it comes.

There will be ups and downs but we’re heading in the right direction. It’s an exciting time to be a Wanderer. Let’s enjoy it together.