As we approach the end of the key period of six games in three weeks, unbeaten after the first five, only one question was on my mind as I drove back to Newcastle on Tuesday - who will the next manager be?

The club say the interview process is ongoing and I fully expect an appointment to be made in time for the FA Cup match at Altrincham.

It’s the perfect time to do it with a break from league action and plenty of time for the new man to work with the team in training continuing, and adding to, the excellent work started by Steve Thompson, who has steadied what was a sinking ship.

The last two performances show where improvements are needed - organisation and getting the ball into the front men.

All the solid sides in the division such as Wealdstone last Saturday, have that tough to break down organisation and we have to be equal to that to allow the quality in the squad to shine through.

We continue to see sides, like Maidenhead on Tuesday, raise their game in the league-like surroundings in front of a big crowd and we need to learn how to break that down effectively.

Everyone knows the firepower we have and it is great to see Alex Reid starting to fire on all cylinders, but the service into him and the others isn’t always great. James Norwood is having to come deeper to try and make an impression on the game but we really want our front two putting pressure on the last man.

The impressive Josh Lundstram’s return should help with that but it is certainly something for the new manager, who of course could be Thompson himself, to consider.

As for the week’s matches, against Wealdstone, it wasn’t a great performance but we ground out something from the game with a super goal from Reid.

Following up single away points with home victories is going to be key for us going forward but, despite a decent enough first half against Maidenhead in which Reid hit the post as well as scored, we just didn’t show up in the second half and, with us clearing two off the line, the equaliser was coming.

However, I don’t want to sound too negative. The last five games have certainly seen a distinct turnaround in both form and performance and Thompson takes a huge amount of credit for getting us back on track and on the brink of the top seven.

A win against Dagenham on Saturday will make it 14 points from a possible 18 and perhaps take us into the play-offs. One thing is for certain, no matter who the new manager is, there is a long way to go in this season yet.