A blog post that's trying its best to be realistic... but failing

Having suffered that unfortunate defeat at Stevenage last week, I didn't expect to be returning from my belated mid-season break to find United still in with a shout of winning the league.

It may only be an itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow polkadot bikini, I mean, er, shout, but it's there nevertheless, and means I can continue to live in my optimistic bubble for at least a couple more days.

And is it really that unrealistic to expect Burton to lose against Oxford, the divisions form side of the last three months, and Torquay, who will most probably need points to secure their own place in top five? I don't think it is, especially when you consider that Burton's record against teams in the top half since RMac took over is as follows: P9 W3 D1 L5. And when you also consider that the three wins came against fellow wobblers Wrexham and Histon, and an Eastbourne side with nothing to play for, you begin to realise that we're actually a shoo-in for the title. Put that champagne on ice folks.

Ahem, anyway, back in the real world they'll probably get the single point they need for the title, and United will be stuck in the play-offs again. Still, if reports of Monday's win at Kettering are to be believed, the team appear to have rediscovered their mojo at just the right time. That's if the Brabinator doesn't make any more rogue team changes of course - I can't have been the only one who groaned when they saw that one-paced line up for the Eastbourne match. Ok, so we got away with it in the end, but I hope that's the last we see of 4-3-3 this season; with Pitt and Willmott both finding a bit of form, and Parky getting back up to speed, employing such a narrow formation is not the way forward in my opinion.