After a terrible run of one win and three draws from 13 games, Carlisle deserve a lot of credit for winning three in a row.

In those victories we’ve seen some of the energy and the passing football that we saw earlier in the season. It’s a case of sustaining it now. There are eight cup finals left. There’s going to be hiccups on the way. But we’ve really put ourselves in the hat now.

If you can get your share of the breaks, this squad is more than capable of making the play-offs. Confidence should be at a premium, from Chris Beech right through the club.

It seems to be getting back to where it was before the interruption. We produced good performances then. I can’t see any reason why we can’t do it again.

It was good to see Jon Mellish getting his 14th and 15th goals of the season against Scunthorpe on Tuesday night. He’s the type of player who thrives on confidence and adrenaline and he’s looking more like he did earlier in the season.

I admired the way Beech came through that hard period. In his interviews he’s not once criticised a player’s performance. He’s taken all the stick.

In his first full season as a head coach, he’s handled that as if he’s been in the hot seat for a few years. When you’re right down there, I know what it’s like. I don’t care what level you’re at, even with the biggest clubs, there’s no magic button you can press. It’s an unusual year with Covid. It might have taken time for some of the players who were affected to get 100 per cent fitness back.

Away at Barrow tomorrow will probably be as hard a game as we’re going to get. They’ve had some good results recently but they’re still looking for points to stay up. I think they’ll be ok, but they’ll be battling on Saturday.

You can imagine how many fans Carlisle would have taken down there. There’ll still be an edge to the game, just because of both teams having a lot to play for.

Then we’re at Newport next Tuesday. That’s a big game, with them in the final play-off spot. If we can keep our recent form, we can get a result. Even a point will keep us in touch.

Liverpool face a struggle next week to qualify for the Champions League semi-finals after losing the first leg 3-1 to Real Madrid. But I wouldn’t rule them out. They’ve got match winners in their squad. An early goal at Anfield could set them up for something special.

Man City’s 2-1 first-leg win over Borussia Dortmund gives them a stronger chance of going through. Some people are saying it would be bad for football if City became the first English club to win the league, the Champions League, the FA Cup and the League Cup in the same season. I’m not so sure. All the big clubs have got lots of money and good squads. What makes the difference for City is Pep Guardiola. And City doing well in the League Cup and the FA Cup is a sign that he respects those competitions – I think we should welcome that.