There has been a lot of talk about loan strikers in recent weeks.

David Mooney has arrived from Reading, scored goals and extended his stay at The Valley, while Akpo Sodje has also come in and made a big impact.

In the four substitute appearances he has made so far, he has already scored two goals and has certainly impressed everyone.

People might ask whether I’m worried about my place in the team, especially as I’ve got a bit of a hernia problem but it’s all good news for the club.

If you want to get promotion, goals are essential, so we have to do whatever it takes. I’ve been playing well alongside Dave in the last few weeks and I’ve also played with Akpo before, at Sheffield Wednesday, so there is no problem on that front.

We’re all different types of players. Dave probably makes more runs with and without the ball, while I’m good holding the ball up and Akpo brings his pace and power to the team so the manager can pick what he feels is best for any particular game – as long as I’m in the side!

The good news is that my hernia isn’t a big problem. I have to give it a good
rest after games but I’m told I can’t make it any worse by playing so
there is no urgent need to have the operation.

For my part, I’m happy to have scored nine goals by the start of December. I recently got my 100th career goal, so things have been going well for
me this season and long may that continue.

I’ve not set myself any target, though. Some strikers like to do that but I’m not one of them. I just want to keep on scoring and helping the team to victory.

We’ve got Southend next on Saturday, and it’s an important game. Our home form has been excellent and we need to maintain that.

We’ve scored nine goals in our last two home games, and results like that send out a message to the rest of the division and give the opposing teams coming to The Valley plenty to think about.

On the flip side, we need to improve our away results a bit, and Tuesday’s win at Brighton was the perfect boost because we don’t want to start feeling pressure in our home games.

But things are generally going well, on a personal and a team front, and if we
can say the same after the end of this month and the busy Christmas fixture list, the club will be in a great position.