It was a few weeks before the international break where Joey Barton and James Belshaw spoke of wanting to play the final stages of this season with a real sense of freedom and abandonment.
That was under the proviso, of course, that their League One status was secured and while they’re still one point short of Barton’s 52-point target to rubber-stamp that, the fact that contract negotiations have now opened with a number of players indicates the decision-makers in the building believe they’ve now gotten over the line.
Today’s visit of Derby County could therefore make for an interesting and potentially exhilarating occasion with the visitors in a troubling run of form - one win in five - and needing points on the board to get back into the top six mix, and the hosts going for it, for the simple reason that they can.
