Haydon Spenceley

THE SIGNS ARE ENCOURAGING

Trust, it’s hard to build and easy to lose.

You can feel on top of the world, together like a band of brothers or sisters one minute and the next, peace and contentment can feel as fragile as one of my hip joints (they’re fragile, go with it). Over the last few games since JB and his coaching team came in, there have been signs that show that lessons are being learned, trust is being built and confidence is beginning to come back.

Even ultra-positive me found it more than a little deflating when a great performance against MK Dons on Saturday ultimately yielded no points. However what I did see in watching the game was that key element, trust being very much in evidence. The players trust the manager and the coaching staff. The manager and the coaching staff are putting their trust in the players, giving them responsibility and expecting them to take it. It’s a good mix. I absolutely know though that games like tonight’s against Rochdale are, if not in the must-win category, certainly in the realm of more important to win than most. Whenever you’re fighting for promotion or relegation, there comes a time in the season where each game feels like it has more on it than the last and so it is this season. However, it looks to me as if whatever happens between now and the end of the season, the injection of positivity that we’ve all seen over the last couple of weeks has given us a good shot at the possibility of success.

In our culture, trust is easier to lose than it is to keep hold of. If people, organisations or governments let you down once, it’s easier to ‘cancel’ them than it is to persist, work out what went wrong and try again. In my faith as a Christian, a lot of emphasis is placed on trusting God and keeping my eyes and ears open for what he’s doing and where he’s leading me and that makes sense to me, but the thing that really blows my mind is that God also trusts me to take what I know of him and all that I have learnt about how to live a life that honours him and put it into action. If it goes well, fantastic. If it doesn’t, he’s there to pick me up, set me right and put me back in the action again. Sometimes we succeed, sometimes we fail and fall, but whatever happens we’re not alone, we’re actually all in, together. It’s particularly resonated with me over the last couple of weeks as I’ve seen Jon and the team work together, bond together and grow to trust one another. Here’s hoping that the next step we take is one that leads to a win tonight and much joy and renewed hope for all of us fans. So keep the faith, don’t lose heart and be sure to annoy the neighbours with your shouting when we (hopefully!) score tonight.

Up the Cobblers!