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Unfortunately, this immense high can quickly be replaced with an unbelievable low, making us players pretty difficult to live with. A poor performance or something even worse like an injury the following weekend can signal feelings of great insecurity, especially for players in the lower leagues - or maybe it's just me!

Thoughts then change to "I'm getting dropped for the next game" or "My contract's up at the end of the season. If I am not in the side, I am not going to get another job".

A great example of this high-low swing from my own past was when I was on trial at . One week I was getting measured up for the club suit, which had me believing that I was going to be offered a contract and that my career was on the up.

The next week I was quite literally down the dole office after being told I was not needed and this was with just a week to go before the new season when most clubs already had their squad in place.

A common generalisation about footballers is that results don't mean as much as they do to the fans and that as soon as that final whistle goes our thoughts are on anything but the game. This is not the case with most of the players I know.

I have lost track of the number of times after a match that I have woken up during the night thinking "Why did I do that?" or "Why didn't I do that?"

I have spoken to a lot of players about this and the overall conclusion I have come to is that we are a lot more insecure than you would think. There are plenty of players who appear bold and brash on the outside merely to cover up frailties in their character.

At the moment, this is a hugely frustrating time to be player or fan. Twice in the space of seven days we have dominated a home game but only managed draws. Both and gave us tough games but with the amount of chances we created over the course of the two matches we really should have achieved maximum points.

We also and are fully aware that we need to start turning these draws into victories soon if we are to make up ground on .

Since the game at the weekend my wife has been trying to keep any sharp instruments out of my reach and also remove all the laces from my shoes.

In the last minute of the Macclesfield game I felt a sharp pain in my left hamstring and had to be substituted. As I have only just recovered from an injury to my right hamstring, you can appreciate where I got the idea for the first few paragraphs!

At the time of writing so I am not sure just how depressed to be! In all seriousness I am trying to stay positive and hope that it is just a strain that won't keep me out for long. I must also wish my team-mate Adam Tann a speedy recovery after he suffered .

A couple of blogs ago I mentioned the plight of my little boy's team who had not managed to win a game. I am glad to report this is no longer the case.

They have won their last two matches with the 'little man' getting four goals. Apparently in the last game the opposition goalkeeper went in a huff and started letting them in because he didn't feel he was getting enough protection from his defenders!

I'd like to think that the winning streak is down to the man who has started taking training on a Wednesday afternoon - me! (Note to the team manager - only joking.)

What was I thinking when I agreed to take on this job? If you have my total admiration. The session starts at four in the afternoon, straight after school, so as you can imagine they are like caged animals let loose!

Towards the end of the session even I am sick of my own voice saying "don't do that" or "listen in" but I enjoy it really, it is good fun and it is great to see a more innocent form of the game where all the boys want to do is enjoy themselves and pick up the odd bit of advice.

It has surprised me just how rewarding it can be when you see the little signs of improvement, even if I do have to top up on the headache tablets when I get home!

I would like to finish by paying tribute to the memory of my former Hartlepool United team mate Michael Maidens. Saturday was the first anniversary of his death. He was a lovely lad who is still fondly remembered by his friends.