PUTTING a successful football team together can sometimes seem like taking two steps forward then one back, and that’s what happened up at Hartlepool on Tuesday.

I was satisfied at taking four points from the previous games against Swindon, where we had an excellent win, and Bristol Rovers.

We were held to a draw at home by Bristol, but I was happy with the way the lads played, and had we drawn away then won at home, I think most people would have been encouraged.

Then we went up to the North-East and managed to score three goals yet lose because of a penalty that shouldn’t have been and some bad defending.

It was very frustrating to be winning with seven minutes to go yet end up on the wrong end of a 5-3 scoreline.

While I felt the penalty from which Hartlepool levelled was harsh, the cross which led to their fourth goal should have been stopped.

At the moment, it seems as though we are being punished for every mistake we make, so we have to eliminate them as far as possible.

I want the players to be able to stand on their own two feet and be able to make key decisions out on the pitch, and I want them to try and play the game properly and to enjoy it.

But mistakes are sometimes made, and as a manager, you will never be able to legislate for them.

You can only point players in the right direction and work hard at cutting them out as much as possible.

Football is a tough game because just when you think you’ve got things sorted, someone comes along and kicks you where it hurts.

But’s that’s the challenge for managers and players alike.

The plus of this squad is that we do create chances, we do score goals, and we are making progress.

There are negatives we have to cut out, and you can always improve on the things you are good at already.

But all these things take time, and time isn’t always a commodity available.

Everyone is aware that the benchmark in my profession is results.

I have a tunnel vision when it comes to building a team – I know what I want, I know how to get it and I hope I’m given the time to do it, because if I am, we’ll be fine.

If not, I’ll have done my very best.

ANDY BOOTH will be having his back operation on Tuesday after this week’s initial meeting with a specialist down in Croydon.

And that’s good news for both the club and Boothy, who can still make a big contribution to our season.

The doc is hopeful that if there are no complications in the wake of the surgery, he could be back in action by Christmas.

That would be great news, but we’ll have to wait and see.

Some people might have suggested we’ve seen the last of Boothy, but don’t be so sure.

He’s a terrific professional with a great goalscoring record, and he’s got a great feeling for Huddersfield Town and an undoubted desire to keep on going.

Who knows, the surgery might even give him a new lease of life.