This week has been all about preparing for the play-offs – and our biggest two games of the season against Swindon.

It seems strange that after nine months playing all across the country, it comes down to potentially three matches in the play-offs, two of which take place in just four days.

But, if nothing else, the play-off system is certainly exciting and it means our season is very much alive.

For a while last weekend it looked like we might gain second place in the league and avoid the play-offs. I was on the bench early in the second half against Oldham Athletic and from the way the fans reacted when Leeds United went behind at Bristol Rovers, you could tell we were in with a shout.

But it was always going to be unlikely that we would sneak into that second spot and most of the lads were already preparing for the play-offs.

We’ve played 46 league games already, so the management staff and the physio team have had to think carefully about how we approach the match.

It’s a long season and without the biggest squad, fatigue is a factor, so a lot of thought has gone into training this week.

Swindon will provide tough opposition. In the two league meetings with them this term, we required last-minute equalisers in both matches – I imagine most people will remember that nine-man 2-2 draw on Boxing Day! – so we will be going all out to gain our first victory against them.
Of course, this would be the victory that counts.

Ultimately, we only finished three points shy of automatic promotion and it’s often the case that you start looking around and thinking of games where you dropped points or didn’t do as well as you’d hoped.

I don’t go in for any of that, though, because I think every club can do that. For example, had we not equalised twice in the last minute against Swindon, they would have been promoted instead of Leeds.

I know some fans are already looking forward to a potential match at Wembley against Millwall but we can’t afford to let ourselves get carried away.

We’ve got to take one game at a time. For my part, I’m hoping to play as big a part as possible. I’ve been in every matchday squad so far this season and don’t want that to change now.

Earlier this month, I was chosen by the management team to be the young player-of-the-year and it was a real honour for me.

We’ve had some excellent young players this year – Jonjo Shelvey, Chris Solly, who has been great and is an unbelievable trainer, and Alex Stavrinou as well.

We’ve got some good young players coming through, so it’s a massive achievement for me.