IT seems to be opening up in the Championship table for Wanderers – but we still need to put out the Forest fire.

Whereas a few weeks ago I thought there would only be one spot up for grabs, results elsewhere have suddenly started to turn in our favour and now there seems to be two places to aim at.

Leicester City played well against Cardiff but seem to be tailing off a bit and Brighton have wobbled too.

We are on a great run heading into the Ipswich game but we’re not alone. Billy Davies has sparked Nottingham Forest and I think they are our main rivals at the moment.

The managerial change has worked for them but you have to question how long it will go on for. I think they are due a little stumble.

It is definitely getting more exciting now. Last month we were worried the season would be completely over with a few bad results, but now we’re all looking at how other teams are getting on, analysing that league table and doing a bit of mental arithmetic.

The pot is starting to bubble but the trick for Dougie Freedman now is to keep it going.

Let’s be completely honest, we have got on this run without really playing at full tilt.

We are definitely looking organised and a lot stronger defensively but there have been little bits of luck here and there that just were not falling for us earlier in the season.

Brighton are probably the best team to have visited the Reebok all season and yet we squeaked out a 1-0 win, we turned it round against Burnley, and it took a late one from Chris Eagles to beat Blackburn. We have found the secret of getting results and what a great time to do so.

We’re probably due to give someone a spanking soon but I’m sure that Dougie would take what his team are doing at the minute. The performances don’t always warrant the win but when he arrived, these were the games we were drawing or maybe even losing.

I just hope that winning habit carries on into this weekend and then after the international break. I’m not sure the players will particularly welcome a week off because things have been going so well, and it will be a test of character to keep things going over that break.

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I WASN’T surprised to see Kevin Davies put talk about his contract on the back burner while the club continue to fight for the play-offs.

The big fella has always acted with class and no matter what the outcome is, you can guarantee he will take his responsibility as captain very seriously indeed.

He has been back in the frame for the last couple of games and given his all, even though the way his opponents had set up did not necessarily favour his style. But you know you’ll get 100 per cent from him, no matter what.

He is the figurehead and it is important he is seen to sing from the same hymn sheet as the manager and everyone else. Even though I’m sure he’d like to have his future sorted, or be frustrated that it is not, the most important thing is results on the pitch.

You don’t want disruption at this stage of the season, and if it is the case that he leaves in the summer, then I’m sure it will be on the right terms.

Either way, there is no-one I’d rather see lifting the play-off trophy in May.

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HEADING for Portman Road it’s natural to think about “that” game and “that” clown of a referee – but I think it is time to put that in the past now.

I was there that night 13 years ago and watched Barry Knight ruin a game of football like no other official had ever done before, or since.

But we have made better memories since then. Things are different and, who knows, maybe things like that happen for a reason?

The Championship is littered with clubs like Ipswich, who have a great tradition and history but can only really hang on to the past as their big claim for a place in the Premier League.

That should be a warning to us as well.

We could just as easily get stuck at this level and that’s why it is important to focus on what is ahead of us in the next nine games.

That said, I think that Ipswich are a fantastic club who have always tried to play football the right way.

Things may have changed a little bit there with Mick McCarthy in charge – and we all know his side will be well-organised, have a physical presence and be hard to break down – but they won’t be looking forward to our visit, that’s for sure.

Mick started off really well and took them right out of trouble when he first arrived. Things have slowed since, and Ipswich are still in that group of teams who could yet get sucked into the bottom three.

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IT’S hard to believe we’re only a year on from Fabrice Muamba’s collapse at White Hart Lane.

So much has changed at the club since that night but the main thing is that he is still around to be with his family.

I’m not sure if the anniversary will really have much of an effect on the team this weekend because so many of the players and staff are different than they were 12 months ago.

It seems that Fab has served himself well and put talk of him coming back and playing again into the background. I think that is sensible.

He has carved out a niche in the media and comes across as a well-spoken guy who gets his point across well.

He’s getting on with things well, and so must the club.

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I’LL be joining Owen Coyle at an event for the Gary Parkinson Trust tomorrow night, which promises to be a great chance to raise some money for our old team-mate.

We were all really happy to see him return home to his family at Christmas but it’s important people still keep him in their thoughts.

As you’ll all know, Gary is suffering from “Locked-in Syndrome” and requires a lot of specialist equipment and support.

The Parky Trust is also one of the charities I have picked out to benefit from the auction I will be holding at the reunion dinner I have