NEW: Exclusive Matt Jansen column

As things stand, following our hard-fought 2-2 draw away to Darlington on Saturday, we lie in ninth position, just a single point off of the newly formed 
play-off positions.

Full-time sides such as Salford City, Harrogate Town and Kidderminster Harriers lie above us and that just shows how competitive we’ve been throughout the campaign so far, in challenging sides who’s budget far outweighs ours.

We outclassed Salford at their place just before Christmas in a 3-0 win and beat Kidderminster away on the first day of the season, so I’m immensely proud of the boys for what they’re achieving at the moment.

Looking back on the weekend’s match at Darlington, I was proud with how we responded after going behind twice in the match. They were difficult conditions to play in, given the amount of snow they’ve had in the North East lately, and the Darlington supporters and officials did well to get the match on in the first place.

A point away from home is always a good point, but I was a little frustrated we couldn’t win the game in the end.

We didn’t start brilliantly in the opening 10 minutes, but as the match went on, I felt we became the better side and probably deserved a victory.

Having said that, to go behind twice and still come away with a point shows our character within the squad, so I am proud of how we responded.

As many of you may know, we had a departure from the squad last week, after Nick Haughton left to join Salford on a permanent deal.

He was absolutely fantastic for us, scoring 13 goals from midfield since joining us on loan from Fleetwood at the end of August.

It’s frustrating for us that he’s left, but that’s what can happen when you bring players in on loan and with the performances he’s put in for us this season, it was no surprise he was wanted by another side. It’s disappointing for us, but that’s football and we’ll move on.

There are 15 matches to go now until the end of the season and our aim is to reach those play-off positions come the end.

We were heartbroken to lose in extra time to Halifax in the play-off final last season, so the hope is we can go one better this time round and gain the promotion everyone at this club deserves.