IAM so glad football is back. I could not have survived another month of transfer speculation.

The exodus of Stanley players was in part to be expected as most seem to have a lack of any real loyalty to the fans and clubs.

I was expecting Jimmy Ryan to be snapped up by a big club in the Championship but I wish him well.

As for the others, the biggest surprise was Sean McConville turning his back on league football to return to non-league obscurity with Stockport.

He was the only player in our squad we had actually paid any money for and so now we are a ‘free’ team!

I fear for Stockport, with rumours of fans’ discontent. I can see another relegation for them this year with their big name manager gone by Christmas.

We must now focus on the loyal players and the new blood in the squad.

We looked solid at the back on Saturday thanks to the new additions and Sean Murdoch looks to be another cracking keeper to add to the long list of shot stoppers that John and Jimmy have brought to the Crown.

A draw was a fair result at the Sixfields, although our new signing from Jersey Kurtis Guthrie might well disagree after seeing his goal disallowed on his first full outing in league football.

After the match John Coleman spoke about a new attitude towards referees and how he wanted his players to concentrate on the game and not barracking the man in the middle. I see this as a massive positive for our club and if we can gain a reputation for getting on with the game I am sure we will see more decisions given our way.

Tonight we entertain Scunthorpe in the Carling Cup and we have a score to settle.

Stanley fans with long memories will still have a lump in their throat when they think about the Irons’ third goal back in 1993 when we played them at Turf Moor in the FA Cup.

That night we narrowly missed out on a lucrative replay but tonight will be a completely different story, fingers crossed!