APART from the injuries that have been picked up over the hectic Christmas period, we've got to be satisfied with the way things have gone.

Obviously it was disappointing to concede a late goal against West Ham and subsequently draw. But eight points from the four games isn't a bad haul, especially considering that two of those games were against Manchester United at home and Liverpool away.

So our run over the festive period has set us up nicely for the New Year.

We didn't get off to the best of starts against Middlesbrough on New Year's Day, but in the end we managed to step up a gear and fought hard for the three points, which I suppose bodes well for the forthcoming fixtures. We've got two tough Worthington Cup games against Manchester United coming up this month and, make no mistake about it, they will be out for revenge for the 1-0 defeat we inflicted on them two weeks ago.

They have taken the competition more seriously this year and will be determined to get to the final.

But, as the cup holders, no one will be as determined as we are to make it to the Millennium Stadium.

Winning the Worthington Cup has to be the highlight of 2002 and it would be fantastic to repeat the experience this year.

The entire weekend was fantastic and walking out onto the pitch of that magnificent stadium was a great feeling. Lifting the cup, though, was even better!

The competition also gave us a taste of European action which, in the end, has to go down as one of the most disappointing aspects of last year. Although we played well in the first leg against Celtic, the second leg at Ewood didn't live up to expectations. But it was a learning curve for a lot of the players and, if we were to be successful in the Worthington Cup again, I'm sure we would be better prepared for more European adventures next season.

However, we must first turn our attentions to a different competition - FA Cup.

A lot of Premiership teams have been drawn against each other in the third round which could make the remainder of the competition very interesting as lower division sides have a better chance of making it to the latter stages.

We make the journey to Aston Villa on Saturday and, although they haven't had the best of times in the league, they will not want to bow out at what, for Premiership and First Division teams, is the first hurdle. And the same goes for us. While the league is our priority this season, wins breed confidence so we will be looking to the New Year as we mean to go on - winning.

I wish all readers a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!