Here’s my column from last week’s Leader. It forms part of the paper’s comprehensive pre-match coverage every Friday, featuring interviews, an in-depth look at the opposition and lots of statistical analysis. All content in the column (c) www.leaderlive.co.uk.

Last season, when the decision to appoint Andy Morrell on a permanent basis was being delayed despite the strong case he was presenting by stringing together a terrific sequence of results, the word was that there were doubts over where he could take the team. Would he be able to flourish in the transfer market and replenish a squad which was expected to be denuded in the Summer? I think he’s answered that question pretty emphatically.

When you consider that essentially half the side which earned a phenomenal 98 points last season has gone – Chris Maxwell, Obeng, Nat Knight-Percival, Jamie Tolley, Lee Fowler, Jake Speight and Mathias Pogba all played roles in our success – Morrell has done remarkably well to keep us in title contention.

He’s done this, in conjunction with Billy Barr, with some shrewd signings. He certainly has an eye for the player that ought not to have become available: when we signed Martin Riley my first reaction was to wonder why on earth Mansfield released him. Whenever I’d seen him play for The Stags he’d stood out, and was part of the side which got to the play-offs last season.

Perhaps they were over-excited by all the money they spent in the Summer, and threw the baby out with the bathwater. With many of their headline signings struggling, surely an envious glance is cast towards Riley, who has been outstanding for us.

It goes without saying that Andy Bishop is another player who fits into that category. I assume that his injuries are the reason Bury put him on the market. He looks a real class act.

And then, of course, there’s possibly the smartest signing of all, and one which was definitely all Morrell’s work: Barr himself. An experienced right-hand man, he’s an smart acquisition, and an astute judge who brings a lot to the club.

Okay, Morrell has made mistakes in the transfer market, but who hasn’t? Crucially, he’s been sharp enough to recognise them and act accordingly: plenty of managers, drunk on their own egos, will stick loyally to their own signings, picking them regardless in the hope they’ll finally flourish against all evidence on the pitch. Morrell is able to eschew such sentiment, as could be seen when he swiftly realised it wasn’t happening for Steven Leslie.

Compare his success with that of his predecessors. Dean Saunders finally put together the strong foundations of a team, but it took him three attempts to do it: when he arrived and in each of the subsequent close seasons he essentially ripped up his squad and started again.

Before him Brian Little’s approach to team building was lunacy, as he signed and discarded players willy-nilly before getting decent use out of them.

The key thing about Morrell is he’s smart. Rather than be dogmatic, he’s a thinker, takes advice and changes his mind if necessary. Such attributes are exactly what we need to keep us at the sharp end of the Conference table.