Fourth in the table as we enter 2010 is good reading for Town fans, but the hard work really starts now, writes Shrewsbury Town blogger James Pugh.

The cold weather certainly seemed to bring out the best in the players as Town recorded their second consecutive away victory against Chesterfield in the new year.

It was not so long ago that fans felt Town’s season was petering out into a damp squib with little hope of challenging for promotion, but suddenly there is a new sense of optimism and new found confidence among the players.

Despite only being one point of automatic promotion, the teams around us have got quite a few games in hand which could eventually see us slide down the table.

However, all the players can do is keep on picking up points and hope other teams struggle as a result of having their games in hand being squeezed into a short period of time.

Town’s recent return to form has certainly been helped by the return to fitness of Disley and Neal, as well as the form in front of goal of Hibbert, but changes still need to be made to the playing staff this month.

Hopefully the early release of Garner from his contract as well as the return of Devitt and Fairhurst to their parent clubs will mean there is room to bring some fresh faces in permanently to give the squad a fresh look.

Simpson will also need to work hard in encouraging clubs to want to buy Bright, Elder and Robinson. I don’t rate Bright and Elder, but think Robinson has got a lot more to give and hope he can improve his attitude and prove to everybody what a good player he is and has got the hunger to want to play for us.

Following two successive away matches and with Saturday’s home game with Barnet postponed to the weather, Town continue on the road on Saturday with a game against mid-table Burton.

On paper and considering our recent away form it looks like a very winnable game. A word of caution to the players though – we have struggled against ‘beatable’ teams this season, including Hereford, Grimsby and Macclesfield. There should be no underestimating any team in this tight division.

The cold weather has certainly caused a lot of frustration amongst fans after it hit what matters to us most, the football calendar. Some fans have even questioned whether more could have been done to allow games to be played, but there are no complaints from me when it comes to people’s health and safety.