IT is a big game at the Kassam Stadium this afternoon for many reasons.

First and foremost it is all about the team of 2016 doing all they can to take three points off Hartlepool as we go into the last three games of the season.

It has been a tough week because we have had eight or nine different injuries and illnesses to contend with.

We thought Kemar Roofe and John Lundstram would be OK for the game at Newport on Tuesday night.

But Kemar didn’t make it past the warm-up and Lunny was clearly struggling on a heavy pitch.

They have both had three or four days to work with our excellent medical team to try and get them right for today, and we have also had Callum O’Dowda and Alex MacDonald back in training after they were struck down with tonsillitis last weekend.

We have been fortunate with injuries for much of the season so we can’t complain too much.

We just roll our sleeves up and work that bit harder to get the right results.

We can’t afford any more slip-ups and only a win will do.

The fans were singing ‘we’re going to win all three’ earlier in the season, so hopefully we can finish the season by doing exactly that!

It’s also a big day for the team of 1986 who will be with us today for the 30th anniversary of the Milk Cup win at Wembley.

That team is the most successful in the club’s history and they fully deserve the reception that I know the fans will give them today.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the Mail’s supplement on Wednesday.

The big thing I noticed from looking through the interviews with those players is the team spirit and camaraderie they had then, and which exists between them to this day.

I think that is something that the current squad share with them, but now is certainly the time to show it.

We have worked so hard to get into this position and now it is up to us to finish the job we started back in the summer, hopefully under the approving eyes of the class of ‘86.

Get right behind us and hopefully we will deliver the goods.

IT’S awards season at the moment and I was delighted to see Kemar Roofe win the Sky Bet League Two player of the year award at the Football League awards last Sunday.

All of the managers in the league were asked to nominate five players (from other clubs) for the award and it is fantastic that Kemar, Liam Sercombe and John Lundstram were all in the top 15 for our division.

We also won family club of the year title for our league.

You can’t have a successful team without a lot of people working very hard in the background and it was great to see the club winning recognition on and off the pitch.

For the record, my five nominations for player of the year were: Crooks (Accrington), Windass (Accrington), Holmes ( Northampton), Taylor (Bristol Rovers) and Simpson (Leyton Orient)