Winger Gwion Edwards believes Saturday’s point away against his former club Peterborough, won via a last-gasp Luke Chambers header, could prove to be a crucial one come May and insists the Blues have not yet hit top gear with their best yet to come.
The 26-year-old made his return after his groin injury in the 3-1 Carabao Cup defeat at Luton and started his first League One match of the season as the Blues and Posh drew 2-2 at London Road.
"It was a good feeling, it could be a big point for us come the end of the season,” he said after the match.
"It was good that the skipper got the header and rescued the point for us."
Chambers turned from villain to hero having made the mistake which led to Sunderland's equalise a week previously.
"Skip’s experienced enough, he’s played a lot of games in his career, so things like that aren’t going to affect him, he’s going to bounce back," Edwards continued.
"He’s a big character in the dressing room and that’s why he’s captain.”
Reflecting on the game, he added: "I think we got sucked into the long ball, where it did work for us part of the game but I think we’ve then got to put our foot on the ball and start playing as we’ve shown we can do.
"It was good, the keeper’s gone up and caused a bit of a problem and Skip has got the goal for us.”
He says the Blues have not yet hit top gear: "No, nowhere near it, the best is yet to come.
"I think as the weeks go by, the more we do in training, the more games we play, we’re going to get better and better.”
Edwards, along with Alan Judge, Emyr Huws and Jon Nolan, who played for the U23s on Friday, is one of a number of senior players back in action but not yet fully match fit.
"We’ve still got players to come back from injury,” he continued. "We’ve still got Freddie [Sears, out with an ACL injury until November] to come back and when he comes back he’ll be a big player for us.
"I think maybe with a few signings this week and it’s going to be a good competition for us.”
The former Swansea trainee says he has felt fine despite playing the two games having missed the whole of pre-season.
"To be fair I felt OK, I felt a bit rusty, which is normal, but that’s going to come,” the Welshman reflected.
"I think the gaffer said that as well, in the next few weeks I’ll carry on building my fitness, getting game time here and there, whether that’s starting or coming on. I’m going to be ready whatever.”
Edwards says he was pleased to be back at London Road, where he was a player for two seasons before joining the Blues in the summer of 2018.
"[The reception I got] was a bit mixed but most of them were alright, to be fair. It’s part and parcel of the game. You get booed, you get cheered, it is what it is.
"I enjoyed being back out there again and I’m going to carry on building my fitness this week and will see if I’m on the squad or playing on Tuesday and on Saturday.
"My fitness is going to come back, so I’m going to get better and better.”
Edwards believes the Blues now need to build on what’s been a solid, unbeaten start to life in League One, even if the squad might have hoped for better than five points from their first nine.
"We’ve started OK, it’s not what we wanted but we’re going to carry on building, we’re going to get better and better and the fans were brilliant again,” he said.
"I think I said on Friday, the backing we’re going to get this season is unreal and [on Saturday] they showed it. If they can carry on helping us on the pitch and off it, it’ll be a brilliant season.”
Edwards welcomed the addition of right-back Kane Vincent-Young, whose move from Colchester was confirmed this morning: "That’s good competition for us, so it’s going to push everyone in the team and in his position.”