Ten games into the season and it is hard to predict where Bromsgrove Rovers will manage to finish this season.

A poor start to the season saw the departure of Duane Darby after only 4 games and whilst Rod Brown came in and got some early results the team has suffered some reverses against sides they should expect to beat, especially if a place in the SL premier is to be regained.

Rod is remodelling the squad with players he prefers which has meant some upheaval with players who did a good job making way for others who may, in the long run be better prospects.

From the start of the season opinion was that we had perhaps half a dozen players who would be better than average in the Midland Division.

That list included keeper Jimmy Dormand and skipper Dennis Pearce who remain but we have lost players who should be at a higher level including Luke Reynolds to Redditch on loan, Chris Duggan, Chris Cornes and, Duane Darby.

Over the last couple of weeks the team has shown some signs of improvement and the second half display against Aylesbury showed they can play as a team rather than 11 individuals.

The problem is Rovers cannot afford to drop many more points as 14 from 10 games means they are already playing catch up to teams in the play-off positions.

Not only that but 14 points is a poor return in a poor league. If a team like Leamington, who are good but by no means great can win 10 out of 10 then Rovers should be able to average 2 points a game without much trouble.

With the side becoming more settled, the key is the ability to go on a decent run and not drop points against teams in the bottom half of the table. There is one statistic which gives cause for optimism.

Those first 10 games have been against 7 teams in the top 10 of the league and only three against teams in the bottom half.

So far, Rovers have won 2 and drawn 1 against those bottom half teams, and the draw against Barton was two points lost according to reports.

That gives some hope if they can drive home the advantage against those bottom teams whilst picking up more points against those at the top.

Certainly, if the Greens can be in contention early in the new year, the run in from February to the end of the season looks to be one of the easiest of the clubs at the top end of the table.

For a club of Bromsgrove’s size and resources the play-offs should be a minimum requirement and it is up to the team to do the business on the pitch and make sure we get there.

Anything lower than 5th in this division would be abject failure.