Last season, due to a well organised, motivated team, building confidence week by week based on the results, SUFC were able to take command of the league and get promoted with magnificent style,flair and commitment, The players, individually, were as good as virtually all the others in that league.
This year the fresh, committed, attacking approach took the rest by surprise and the spirit and lack of fear saw us make great headway to the top. Then Coutts' injury and the rest of the league sussed us out.Losing a few would also knock confidence to a degree, something that was virtually unknown last season.
Players who, last year, had been at least the equal of their contemporaries, are coming up against a better quality of player, better organised, in better teams yet still we maintain a much better than anticipated league position.
CW has become more pragmatic, by necessity, we are still in a good position but we cannot expect the players and CW to work miracles as they come up against better players virtually every time they don the shirt.
Now, as we approch the business end of the season,the pressure and importance of each game counts for more for every team.
Hopefully we can make a meaningful challenge for the play offs but what the powers that be can't expect is that, without an injection of quality, CW can maintain the progress he has engineered over the last couple of years.
He's stepped up, the players have stepped up.
Will whoever owns us by the close season also step up?