SO not long to go now before Santa starts his rounds.

And let's hope he can find us a couple of wins in his sack after a couple of disappointing results in the league.

Last week's defeat at St James's felt like a real kick in the teeth, particularly with Matty getting injured.

And it's turned up the heat as we prepare to start a busy run of four games in 11 days.

But a win at The Valley would go a long way to reviving our festive spirit so let's hope we can deliver the fans an early Christmas present tomorrow.

These days, professional footballers rarely want for anything and I for one really appreciate just how lucky I am.

But if there's one thing we do miss out on sometimes, then it's a proper Christmas with our families.

Thankfully, at least we're at home on Boxing Day this year so we're not going to be stuck in some hotel at the opposite end of the country on the big day.

I remember when we had to play at Norwich on New Year's Day last season and it felt like we were a million miles away from home -- so much for the old idea of playing derbies over Christmas, hey!

But then we do get paid handsomely for what we do and it's all part of the job -- a job I wouldn't swap for any other in the world.

I was thinking back to when I first joined Rovers the other day.

I was nine when I first went for a trial, I then signed school of excellence forms four weeks later and I've been here ever since.

As a trainee, I remember cleaning the boots of players like Graeme Le Saux and Tim Sherwood and we looked up to them all as players we wanted to emulate.

I even remember cleaning one of the young pro's boots who I actually played in the same reserve team as which was quite bizarre because we'd play in the same game and then I'd have to polish his boots afterwards.

Then, when I turned 17, I got to become a pro, too, and it was a tremendous feeling because it was all I'd ever dreamed of.

Not only that but it also meant a substantial pay rise because I'd been getting about £40 a week as a YTS up until then.

Ironically, it was around Christmas time when I actually signed pro forms and I went out to celebrate with a few of my old mates from school.

Let's just hope we have something to celebrate from our trip to London tomorrow.

Charlton are a decent side on their own patch and they've picked up after a sticky start to the season.

But as I said at St James's, it's important we stick together and don't panic.

We might have had a couple of bad results, but we haven't become a bad side over night.

And, as long as we keep playing our football, then there's no reason why it can't be a very happy Christmas.