GAMES are won by scoring goals and, even though I'd have to say we were a little bit lucky and didn't play as well as we can, we had a goalscorer in our side who produced a magnificent strike.

We won a game we probably didn't deserve to win and that hasn't happened much this season but the pitch played a big part in spoiling the game for both sides. It was difficult to get the ball down and and try to play.

We had to dig in and I'm glad we did because when Dean Holdsworth came up with that fantastic strike, it was decisive. He was at a very, very acute angle and round about the 18 yard line so he hit the target from quite a distance and hit it ferociously.

We only managed seven away wins last season and we've now got six at the halfway stage. If we maintain that away form and continue to do well at home, we won't be too far away.

Winning at Wimbledon was a major achievement, irrespective of their home form. We always knew John Hartson and Jason Euell would be a handful and they were but we stuck to our task and got that all-important clean sheet, which is what every manager looks for. That's given us 45 points and with one or two of the other clubs slipping up, we've pulled a little bit further away.

I'm not concerned with Fulham in the slightest but, if we can gain a bit of breathing space in second position, we can go on from there.

Colin Hendry did well considering it was his first game in five weeks and the old stager (Gudni Bergsson) alongside him was his usual brilliant self. When we needed a goalscorer, we had one and when we needed a goalie, Jussi (Jaaskelainen) was there with his save from Francis.

The first substitution I made was about the system, which was unlucky for Carsten. It wasn't anything he had done or not done. The second was because Ian Marshall felt his thigh a little bit at half time ... but Deano would have been on five or ten minutes into the second half anyway. As it was, he gave us an extra dimension when he went on. His hold up play was excellent.

He's been on at me all week, asking if he was starting. After that performance he's close to starting next week. He's put me under pressure.

You always need a little bit of luck and when you're at the top you always seem to get it at the right times. We soaked up a lot of pressure but Jussi Jaaskelainen didn't have too many saves to make and we capitalised on that. We battled our way through, we were very dogged and very determined.

Now we're in second spot, we know teams are going to try that bit harder against us so it's up to us to show people we deserve to stay there.

Some people say it's too early but it's nice to have the points in the bag.