EXECUTIVE BRIEF: Promotion party can start early – if results go our way (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

EXECUTIVE BRIEF: Promotion party can start early – if results go our way

5:00pm Friday 13th April 2012 in Football

EASTER was very much a job well done for us and if you include the game against Barnet last Tuesday, nine points in seven days is an excellent return.

Paolo was certain that this period would be a critical one in terms of where the teams involved in the promotion race would be finishing this season and I’m sure he’s absolutely delighted with those nine points.

It’s now a question of, first, securing promotion and then trying to win the championship.

The cup final was always a one-off and I never thought that it would affect our march in the league –- which, of course, has always been the most important thing to concentrate on.

Players prepare differently than for league games, it’s a different environment and the form book gets thrown out of the window so Wembley has been put firmly back in the cupboard of experience.

There are always some nerves at this stage of the season but the players have already demonstrated their commitment with what they’ve achieved so far and Paolo has issued his call to arms for the fans to fill the stadium this weekend against Plymouth.

We need a lot of other results to go our way to clinch promotion this weekend but of course it would be fantastic if it were to happen and for Paolo, it would be an early pinnacle in his career.

If he can acheive promotion in his first season as a manager, who knows what he could achieve in his second and third?

Our season ticket prices have been out for a month now and they reflect a potential return to League One – we’ve gone back to where we were last time with those.

But there are more preparations for next season going on at the moment to make sure that we keep scoring goals off the pitch too.

We’re responsible for all of our own commericial activity and our different departments will be sitting down for two days next week to review and reflect on where we’ve done well in terms of our service this season.

We’ll be looking at testimonials and things like that, and it’s something we do every year. It’s not just about patting ourselves on the back.

We want to make sure that we keep improving and we want to make sure that what we offer is right for the 2012/2013 season.