Town striker James Norwood says Saturday’s game at Portsmouth is a chance to put things right after last week’s disappointing 2-1 home loss to Bristol Rovers which he believes the Blues should have won.
"It’s going to be massive for us, we’re coming off a defeat where we feel like we should have won the game, but it’s time to put things right and if we do well over this Christmas period, then we’ll be right back where think we should be,” he said.
"We had enough chances, me in particular, to win the game. We gave two easy goals away, but we are going to concede goals, it’s part and parcel of football.
"That’s when you need the frontmen to turn around and bail the lads out because we’ve been bailed out sometimes. We might score one a game and have kept a lot of clean sheets, so it works both ways.
"The defence are going to need us to bail them out and we’re going to need them to bail us out at times.”
Norwood played as part of a three-man attack against the Pirates alongside Will Keane, who operated down the middle, and Kayden Jackson.
"I thought we worked well as a three,” he reflected. "I’ve obviously been playing a different role all season lining up in a two, so it’s been different. I’ve had to adapt to the way I play in a two and I’ve just adapted again.
"And I ended up getting more chances in any of the previous games, so I think we’ll work well.
"The more goals on the pitch, the better for the team, people will be pinned back and worried about the front three of Jackson, Keane and Norwood, rather than just Jackson and Norwood.”
He says it’s a role he has played before at other clubs: "I have done, I was a left midfielder for four years, I played on the left a couple of times at Tranmere, so I’m just happy to be playing.
"As a striker I always know where the goal is and how to get into positions to score. I could play right-back and I’d still end up at the back stick.”
Norwood’s goal against Bristol Rovers was his eighth of the season and he was pleased to finish the chance given the quality of the build-up.
"I watched it back and there was Flynn’s scoop, Garbs has flicked it on with the outside of his boot and Jacko’s put in a world-class cross and I think it would have been terrible of me to miss that one!” he added.
Regarding Town’s stuttering form, which has seen them fail to win their last four League One games and just one over 90 minutes in their last 10 in all competitions, he said: "I just think it’s part and parcel of football, it happens. Because of the first 14, 15 games people think that’s what’s going to happen.
"But it doesn’t work like that in football. If we have our blip now and we’re second and we go on another run like we did then no one’s going to complain because that will take us to near enough the end of the season.
"We’ve been unhappy with the results, but that’s going to happen, we’re going to lose games, we’re going to not play well, it’s how we bounce back. This loss could be great for us because we might go and win three on the spin now.”
The 29-year-old is confident that it is just a blip and that Town will soon be back in winning form.
"Yes, of course, we’re always piecing stuff together,” he said. "I think if you look at the last 70-odd minutes against Bristol Rovers, if we play like that with the shackles off, then there are not a lot of teams that are going to be able to stop us going forward.
"We looked tight at the back, they didn’t score for the last 70 minutes, we were on the front foot foot, we were attacking, we were playing good football, I think we just need to take the shackles off and go at teams.”
Looking ahead to the visit to Fratton Park and one of the best atmospheres in League One, he added: "It’s supposedly a sell-out as well, that’s something we’re used to, that number of fans, it’s not going to faze us.
"We know that they’re going to have to try and come at us being the home team, they’re not going to sit there and frustrate us, and hopefully it should make for a good game of attacking football.”