Last weekend the result against Tottenham really hurt. To lose to our local rivals twice in a season is frustrating and disappointing.
However, although we have given them six points, we are still three points ahead of them and will be looking to make sure that it stays that way. Tottenham had probably one or two players not available to them, while we had six or seven, but we are not making excuses. The game was their's to win, but we made it difficult for them and showed great resilience.
Although they had lot of possession in the middle of the pitch, when it came down to the final third in the majority of the game, there was very little that threatened Greeny's goal, so that was pleasing. Had we perhaps taken the lead through David Di Michele with our chance just before, almost certainly, we would have pulled the shutters down and then made it extremely hard for them to come back into the game.
It wasn't to be. Yet again it was a scenario that happens in many Premier League matches - who scores first, wins and so it was. Thank you to all of you who made it to Tottenham and apologies if you are getting some stick from our rival's supporters this week!
Against Aston Villa this weekend, if we can score first, it will change the mentality of their set-up and give us a lot to hold on to. We do have a bare squad at the moment, but on the upside of that, it is giving a lot of our young guys a chance to experience first-team football and travel with the team. All we hope is that they will grab that opportunity, continue to mature and want a lot more, something they are already showing that they do.
It will be a difficult game this weekend. Until the last four or five games, Villa have been vying for the position of breaking into the top four. They have fallen off the pace a little bit, but are still a very young, hungry and talented team - so it is going to be a very difficult game.
But I am convinced that we can put on a good show this weekend and make it very difficult for them to win the game. For us, a little bit more ruthlessness in front of goal and making sure we can take the chance that comes our way.
It is a big game for a number of reasons, because yet again, if we can win, we can open up a bit of a gap on some of the teams that are sitting just below us and waiting to pounce on that seventh position.
We also hope that those teams trip up in a few more games and that will stop the chance of them catching us. It is quite clear we are fighting for seventh place and are slight favourites for it. With six games to go, we have to try and win at least half our matches and if we can stay undefeated, then there is every chance to hold on to that seventh spot.
If we can win three out of the six, it will make it extremely tough for anyone else to catch us. It would mean most teams below us would have to stay undefeated also for the remainder of the season, so there is definitely lots to be excited about.
Having said that, what we have done so far is fantastic. We have had to go into a lot of games without many of our weapons so to speak, but managed to win games when maybe some people thought it not possible or draw games instead of losing.
So if all our fans can stick with us, continue to be proud and help give us that extra push we need it will keep us going for the next six games. It would be great to be sitting back at the end of it, talking about a really impressive season, one that's seen us give six or seven youngsters a chance to play their part as well.
It was great to welcome you all who came to watch us train at Upton Park this week. The weather wasn't the greatest, but hopefully you enjoyed seeing us being put through our paces.
Thank you in advance to all those making the trip up to Villa this weekend, we appreciate your support as always and hopefully we can come away with the right result.
Lucas Neill