I have seen and heard so many times in the last few days that football has stopped for the World Cup.

And yes, of course I want England to do well and was delighted with Monday’s comprehensive victory over Iran but football certainly has not stopped. The lower leagues and the National League continue apace and I would certainly choose watching Latics over watching England so I’m very disappointed that I’m having to miss the Solihull match due to it being an early kick off just in case England or Wales play that afternoon in a second round fixture.

It’s an interesting decision by the League. Would the attendance be impacted? Would many fans stay away to watch their country on the TV rather than their team actually on the pitch? I don’t know for certain but there have been a number of fixture changes already this season, with fans losing money from hotels or trains or similar and the National League should always ensure that they are putting their fans and clubs first. So far, I’m far from certain that they do that.

To last weekend’s game and a point on the road at Maidstone United with, by most accounts, a vastly improved performance and only being stopped from winning by an on-form goalkeeper and a goal line clearance, the only disappointment really seems to be not managing to just sneak the three points.

I was very encouraged by David Unsworth’s comments that he was disappointed we didn’t win. We haven’t had the mindset that we should win embedded in the club for many years and, until we do, we won’t see any success. The gaffer has mentioned this and knows it’s an issue and is clearly looking at changing it.

This will eventually seep into the fanbase as well. A fanbase which, on the whole, has also for many years had a mindset of expecting to lose, rather than expecting to win and that will be a huge positive on matchdays in our, even now always fantastic, support for the team.

As I write this, the gaffer’s latest signing has just been announced as Alex Reid, a centre forward from Stockport, and from the brief clips I’ve seen, he looks like just what we need - someone always sniffing around the box looking for a goal, something he has found plenty of in the last two or three seasons.

Unsworth is certainly continuing to add his own pieces to the puzzle and hopefully we’ll start to see them gel soon, bringing more than a point out of solid performances like at the Gallagher Stadium last weekend.