NO-ONE is looking forward to a home game more than me. The game against Coventry in mid-December was the last time I set foot on the Turf, so that makes my unexpected return all the more pleasing ahead of West Brom's visit on Saturday.

We all know what a tough game this promises to be, but we are now getting to the stage where wins are essential.

West Brom were flattered by the 4-1 win earlier in the season because we are a much better team than that scoreline suggests.

We feel we are just as capable of beating West Brom as any team near the bottom, but we feel we have got ourselves in a position where we have put ourselves under pressure to win games like this.

Under normal circumstances, a draw against Palace and West Brom might have been acceptable.

But in our present situation, all remaining 19 league games are like cup finals and draws are not going to be good enough.

It's winning that matters and that's what we have to focus on.

My inclusion at Palace was certainly earlier than I expected. I was hoping to scrape into the West Brom game, but in training I did a few exercises and felt okay so the gaffer asked me to give it 20 minutes.

It ended up being double that and I was just happy to come through. Hamstrings are such delicate injuries to pick up and it's always in the back of your mind that you might not be able to stand up to it.

But the gaffer wanted to try and make things happen in a scrappy game that was probably a fair result in the end.

That means it's now two clean sheets in a row for the first time since about 1974! It's been a long time coming, but when you are conceding goals there's sometimes no harm in the gaffer changing things around.

We have tried to keep things more solid by having full backs Lee Roche and Mo Camara sit instead of bombing forward, and it seems to be working.

It's certainly a start and now we can look forward to West Brom with a bit of confidence restored.

Off the field, we've all heard the dreaded word 'administration' being thrown about, but

hopefully things will soon change on that front too.

We were fortunate last year with the cup runs, where we had some good games and crowds.

This year we are still playing for that big draw that hasn't happened yet. But as a player all you can do is focus and look forward to the game you are given.

I'm sure the board were hoping for Manchester United, Arsenal when we ended up getting Gillingham at home.

But it's a game we are more than capable of winning and if we can get through, the board, the manager and the players can start to get excited all over again.