That was the week that was...but the football drug keeps you hooked

It was a very impressive event and very well-organised. The people that were there and are involved in the Trust obviously care greatly about their club.

It was said on the night the supporters do have a voice and that is true. It is important that the people who will run the club listen to that voice.

It was also heartening to see such a wide range of supporters there, from the very young to the old. That is what football clubs are all about.

Those that were there at the Barbican and those 2,500 who regularly attend games are, as I have said before, the hardcore supporters. What we need now is for more to come regularly through the turnstiles.

The easiest way to do that is to have success on the field but to have that success we need everyone pulling in the right direction and off the pitch a solid base upon which to build.

Hopefully, if those who have shown an interest in the club do what they say they are going to do with the fans involved it can only make for a better club.

To witness such a great turn-out on Friday and then to have the game postponed on the Saturday was very disappointing.

Someone claiming to be a freelance journalist suggested to me that we had deliberately called the game off because of all our injuries. That was annoying. If we had wanted to do that we would have done it well before 2.15pm.

The referee and everyone at the club did everything in their power to get the game on, especially with so many people coming from all over the country.

In the morning it had been fine and when the rain did come most people would have been starting out on their journey. That is why the referee wanted to give the pitch every chance.

It doesn't make the job any easier but it's all part of the drug that is being a football manager.

The fact Sir Alex Ferguson looks like he will now be staying on as manager of Manchester United for a bit longer and Graham Taylor was persuaded to come out of retirement to take charge of Aston Villa merely underlines the fact we wouldn't be doing this job if it wasn't in our blood.

In the next few days I will be celebrating my two-year anniversary as manager of York City and it has certainly been a typically untypical week.

On Friday night I was at the fans' meeting when the future of the club was put in the spotlight.

On Saturday we didn't know whether we were going to be playing right up until virtually the last possible moment. We've then had the problems of training in the bad weather on Monday. In the current conditions and with so many games coming up we have to be careful how hard we push the players.

Having prepared for Rochdale we then had more than a few anxious moments as the heavens opened. Forced to play in a torrential downpour, there were so many incidents in the match it was just a shame we didn't make the score 5-5. We deserved at least a point.

Instead, I've been left to contemplate scoring four goals away from home and still losing while we picked up more injuries and suspensions.

All this time I have also been working on the deal that has today seen Jon Parkin join us from Barnsley on loan.

As you can see, it is certainly not a typical nine to five job being a football manager.

But I wouldn't swap it for the world. I have enjoyed my two years but I obviously think the best is yet to come.

Finally, and on a subject totally unrelated to football but one that has got the nation talking, I'd like to urge people to vote for Gareth in the final of Pop Idol on Saturday.

He comes from an area of Bradford where I grew up so I'd like him to get as many votes as possible!

Updated: 10:59 Thursday, February 07, 2002