Stability, stability, stability - a thing we lacked so much during Paul Jewell and Roy Keane’s respective tenures. I think I can speak for most Town fans in saying that we should be very content with the club's situation at this moment.

For what we lack in spark and quality, we sure make up for in physical application and tenacity. Mick McCarthy has built a solid unit in a relatively short space of time that nearly nicked the last play-off spot. Cast your mind back to the shambles Jewell created, where the players' lack of confidence and mental fragility was very realistically threatening to send us down to League One. These facts alone exemplify the terrific job McCarthy has done.

A word that comes to mind more and more often within the discourse of modern football is ‘perspective’, as far as I’m concerned, very little of this exists in the modern game. Overly critical fans and owners are really threatening to destroy the integrity of the beautiful game.

Countless examples can be drawn upon this season, to name a few; the unfair dismissal of Steve Clarke, the equally unfair dismissal of Malky Mackay. We currently now have Newcastle and West Ham fans persistently headhunting both Alan Pardew and Sam Allardyce, and while I am not a fan of Pardew or Allardyce, this treatment is unfair. Let’s remember these clubs were in the Championship not long ago, now it seems Premier League status simply isn’t good enough.

Clubs like these need to be careful what they wish for, one knee-jerk decision and they could go spiralling downhill. I ever increasingly get the impression that managers are being penalised for simply doing a good job, and this culture needs to stop. So my plea to Town fans is to remain patient because McCarthy knows how to get teams promoted, and I firmly believe he can achieve this within the next three seasons, despite the fact there’s no guarantee he’ll be here for that amount of time.

I have two main criticisms of Mick McCarthy this season, the first is a defensive mentality, and the second is transfer listing Paul Taylor. However, McCarthy would still have a reasonable case against these criticisms. A defensive mentality has enabled us to grind out wins on many occasions this season, but there are still moments where I feel we don’t show enough attacking initiative and really go for it.

Sitting on leads has been the main problem and was a real issue at the start of the season. If we take an early lead we really need to push for a second and make sure of the three points. There is nothing more frustrating than seeing a team who is there for the taking, yet we sit on our laurels.

McCarthy undoubtedly has good defensive principles that he rigorously abides by, but shifting the mentality very slightly could work magic. This would obviously be aided by the arrival of a more creative presence who can pick the locks of opposition defences, a similar player in the mould of Jonny Williams would be a great acquisition, as he was instrumental in helping us pick up points in the late play-off surge.

The other slight criticism as I mentioned earlier was transfer listing Paul Taylor, I for one was very excited when he arrived from Peterborough for a fairly hefty fee. I’d seen the kid dribble past players with ease, and score outstanding goals on The Football League Show. If he had started more games, I’m firmly of the belief it would have paid off.

Once settled at a new club and playing regular games, I could eventually see Taylor playing at a much higher level. Unfortunately I just don’t think Taylor was McCarthy’s kind of player, and maybe a lack of application in training was another issue, which is fair enough.

Another thing we’ll prominently read and hear about over the off-season is Aaron Cresswell speculation. I have a hunch that he’ll end up at Southampton as a direct replacement for Luke Shaw. I also think Cresswell would complement Southampton’s style of play. From what we hear there are many Premier League teams in the hunt for him, this should hopefully drive up his price-tag somewhat. An offer of £4 million-plus should probably be accepted as the money will help us strengthen crucial areas elsewhere.

This brings me onto the topic of Tyrone Mings, and whether he should warrant a starting place next season. McCarthy needs to give him lots of game time pre-season to gain more experience, so we can see where his qualities and frailties lie. From what we know already, he’s fairly calm and measured and hasn’t put a foot wrong, aside from the Doncaster penalty. At this moment in time, it’s hard to make any conclusive decisions regarding the left-back situation.

Hopefully with a fit and firing David McGoldrick next season we’ll be a real force to contend with, but as I referred to earlier, a creative spark in the midfield is needed. In addition to this, I think we need to add some flair and pace on the wing. What we currently possess is a workmanlike side who are hard to beat, but with one or two effective additions we could really strike the perfect balance and perhaps cement a play-off spot next season, or even better, a push for automatic promotion.

This is an optimistic blog that’s certainly looking at our current predicament with a ‘glass half full’, but there is nothing worse than negativity. I believe an excellent and compelling season across the Football League and Premier League has been overshadowed by ill-judged and unfair decision-making. The fickle nature of modern football is infuriating, people like Vincent Tan shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near a football club where they can exert huge influence.

Pessimistic added 12:11 - May 17 I enjoyed reading your blog and in the main agreed with it. I certainly think Paul Taylor offered so much more but his face obviously did not fit in the no flair style of thinking that sometimes dogs Mick McCarty's style. All things considered though, he has done very well as a Town manager with so little to spend. Paul Jewell is a decent man but was out of the game for too long I feel but we should not forget some of his acquisitions, which of course included both Paul Taylor and Aaron Cresswell.

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