After picking up a point at Macclesfield last weekend we face a different ball game this time against Bristol Rovers.

Rovers have got two very quick wingers and we watched their FA Cup game against AFC Totton, where everything they hit seemed to fly in, although that might be because of the balls they use in that competition.

They won that game 6-1 but Totton started the match well and on another day it could have been 5-5 or 6-6. It was just that the lower league players couldn’t handle Rovers’ pace.

Matt Harrold, who plays upfront for them, is a decent target man and they’ll be looking to get balls up to him.

They have threats, so we need to be on our guard, but we know the game is definitely winnable. Hopefully the fans will get behind us, like they did against Bradford, and we can give them a nice little early Christmas present.

We were a little frustrated that we only came away with a draw from out trip to Macclesfield last Saturday.

Everything that they did was slowed right down as they would send their centre halves up for set pieces and then move their midfielders into defence. It made it very difficult to play at your own tempo and it was a stop-start match. After the game we asked our goalkeeper how many saves he made, and he said none, which tells its own story. Curtis came close to scoring with a side foot volley that the goalkeeper did well to save but, for me, his save low down to deny Danny Jackman was even better.

There were aspects of the way Macclesfield played that should prepare us well for the Stoke game in the FA Cup, with the long throws and the long balls. It was certainly effective for Stoke this week in their game against Tottenham.

IRONICALLY, we stayed in Stoke on Friday night, in preparation for our game at Macclesfield. I was stood looking out of the window at a crisp clear day and I nearly dropped the phone when the kit man told me he was at the ground helping shovel snow off the pitch. They had about 25 volunteers out there on the morning of the game.

According to the Macclesfield chairman their ground was in the middle of a small band of snow that had swept it. Luckily by the time we arrived the pitch was looking okay, considering. It always seems to be cold in Macclesfield and I am sure I have played there in the summer with snow on the pitch.

It was a shame that we left with just a point but if we can get a win againts Bristol Rovers then that’s four points from two games and hitting the two-point average we are after.

IT’S been like the good old days down at Priestfield this week with fans queuing for tickets.

It was quite a pleasant surprise to see the supporters outside the ground when I drove in on Monday morning and reminded me of times past when there would be queues right around to the Gordon Road for tickets.

We are all looking forward to that game but know we face a busy Christmas period in the league before that.

ON the morning that I wrote this week’s column, the club’s media officer Jon informed me that it has been 14 years to the day that I made my league debut for the club.

The time has flown by but I remember it well. I had been playing for Grimsby in the FA Cup against Shrewsbury, where I scored, and I was being watched by scout Lindsay Parsons.

My manager Alan Buckley informed me of Gillingham’s interest and I came down to Gillingham to see their manager Tony Pulis. He and the chairman sold me the club and a few days later I flew down to sign.

I ended up scoring on my league debut against Southend and it’s been a roller coaster time here ever since.