COME on, who else forgot to draw breath for the last 10 or so minutes on Saturday when it inevitably went to 1-1 and J Rhodes had just entered the pitch?

The bloke next to me sighed as the equaliser went in and said, “I’m just glad it wasn’t him’. In all honesty, I think if we HAD to concede a goal most of us would rather it had been ‘him’ than someone who once plied their trade both Claret and Lily-white side. 

But enough of the past. The immediate future suddenly looks rosier.

The defence were solid especially Ben Marshall’s negation of ‘dangerman’ Stewart Downing. I have occasionally questioned Marshall in this column – although seemingly never whilst he is at right-back.

The diamond formation in midfield gave him the opportunity to show both sides of his game and in the interests of equality, in the last two games he has been excellent and so deserves my fulsome praise. 

A driving work ethic in midfield met with Jordi Gomez’s skill to create problems for ‘Boro. Danny Graham gave a Newell-esque performance up top and Tony Watt took up great positions. If he keeps his patience in making those runs and takes his chances I predict at least a half-dozen goals by the end of the campaign.  

But what is the use of all this ‘happy clapping’ if this level of performance isn’t maintained over the three oncoming fixtures in front of 15,000 skill-starved home fans? 

For many this will be the first sighting of Lambert’s Rovers 2.0 and getting back to winning ways in the league is imperative. Especially on Tuesday against Fulham.

Most people I spoke to shown an initial preference for West Ham over Liverpool for next Sunday’s cup tie but let's face it – West Ham will put out a very strong side.

The in-cohesion of Liverpool’s half youth/half old lags cup selection (especially coming up to Europe and a cup final) may have suited a one-off tie better.

Let’s hope the less ‘glamourous’ tie and TV showing doesn't lead to another sub-5,000 crowd.