There’s a four letter word that most football fans don’t like.

It creeps in to your vocabulary at this time of the season and can make your life a little less comfortable.

As you read this that word will be bandied about on the Town supporters bus on the way to Carlisle.

It’s something that sometimes delivers but sometimes terribly disappoints.

That word is HOPE.

You see the problem is this. Until two weeks ago, most Town fans had more or less accepted the acceptable.

An upper mid table finish with just the odd anxious glance towards the lower reaches of League One.

Now though, after three successive wins, maybe other things occupy our minds.

All of a sudden there’s a buzz.

You would have felt it after Louis Thompson’s late winner last Saturday.

The play offs are possible again.

There I’ve said it. It’s out in the open and better for it.

A few weeks ago the journey on the same supporters bus up to Crewe, had a definite end of season feel about it.

Just seeing out the games till the summer break. Now though, the long trip to Cumbria has something on it.

With Peterborough just above us and holding the aces in terms of points and games in hand, they would appear to be favourites to grab that final play off place.

Who knows though what may occur as the games run out and the nerves take hold.

You see that’s the thing about hope. It gnaws away at you and makes you think things that eventually may not happen.

One things for sure, while we travel to Brunton Park, we travel with that four letter word.

The expression is “It’s better to travel hopefully than to arrive”. I hope to do both and that hope delivers.

Here’s hoping.