We do not earn "football-esque" salaries so it is a very real situation for those involved. Being professionals, whatever comes of it, the players are 100% committed to the club's cause and will continue to give their all on and off the pitch

We thought they would be throwing the kitchen sink at us as they fight to stay in the league and they proved us right.

Despite some aspects of our performance that weren't quite up to scratch, we have taken the positives in overcoming a determined, physical and confrontational side.

For me personally it was good to get back into the swing of things after resting a cracked rib for a couple of weeks. Having picked the injury up at Coventry before Christmas and trying to soldier on in some discomfort the doctors told me to take a rest after I somehow managed to get hit in exactly the same spot in every game after.

After getting the nod to come off the bench with 20 minutes to go, Tom Jarvis (who I was to replace) went and got himself sin-binned which halved the time left for me to make my glorious comeback so thanks Tom!

The build up to the game was undertaken with a very strange atmosphere last week as the club revealed it was making cut-backs in its outgoings citing the credit crunch as the reason behind them.

This meant the players would be asked to take a pay-cut. This is obviously not an ideal situation for anybody but in many ways it has galvanised the squad and brought us closer together as a group.

We do not earn "football-esque" salaries so it is a very real situation for those involved. Being professionals, whatever comes of it, the players are 100% committed to the club's cause and will continue to give their all on and off the pitch.

This week sees the return fixture of the Devon derby against Exeter. The fierce rivalry between the two clubs will no doubt make for a brutal and entertaining game.

With tickets already nearly sold out I am really looking forward to the intense atmosphere the crowd will generate although playing in the back three often leaves you very exposed to banter/abuse from witty fans on the touch lines!

A few of the lads obviously felt guilty after an over-indulgent Christmas away from the rigours of professional sport and decided to go on diets

After suffering a broken jaw in the last encounter I will be looking to play for more than 20 minutes this time!

Now we are well in to the new year it has been very interesting watching some of the boys attempt to keep to their resolutions.

A few of the lads obviously felt guilty after an over-indulgent Christmas away from the rigours of professional sport and decided to go on diets.

Our Turkish friend Tom Jarvis and his new house-mate and partner-in-crime Mike Denbee have undertaken a novel fish-based diet to devastating effect while Alex Davies has been religiously counting calories and abstaining from little treats in order to get rid of his "love-handles".

If you do encounter them, be sure to compliment them on their slim waistlines and rippling muscles as they get nothing but abuse from the rest of the team.

Liam Gibson has refused to get caught up in all this and remains totally committed to his strict diet of Haribo, jelly babies and Nik Naks.

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