It was a very good result against League One side Bolton the other night and the second half performance one that we can be happy about. But they are a third tier side and we were expected to win and early on, Bolton were the better side and we lacked purpose and were too slow.
But that was rectified in the second half and this was the biggest match Bolton are likely to face this season, so we should expect a certain approach from them. But it was an important match to win and we won it. But the more important match is this weekend at home to West Ham.
West Ham finished seventh last season and looked very good. This season they've not started very well and are currently bottom of the table having not scored in the League. On paper, this match is ours for the taking.
But as we all know with paper, it's not always what is written on it.
And while I'm largely supportive of Steven Gerrard, I have written from day one that it was a big gamble taking him for many reasons. It was a gamble because managing Rangers or Celtic essentially assures you of silverware in Scotland and he only won one thing out of a possible nine things he could have won domestically. And he got the job for doing another job.
But if you read some of the stuff on the Aston Villa page on the BBC or listen to the radio, a lot of people are now suggesting he's not living up to the hype. I heard someone say this morning that the honeymoon period is over.
So it's safe to say that this is an important match.
It was the right thing to do in picking a strong side against Bolton. Hopefully the confidence from the win will carry through to this game, but we won't be able to start slow and hope for a strong second half performance. Just because West Ham haven't scored this season or picked up a point doesn't mean that is going to continue.
But it is a good opportunity and we have to go at them from the first minute until the 95th. We have to be relentless chasing down the ball. We have to be quick and precise in our attack and we have to create options. It's okay to sit on the ball in periods but if we don't go at them from kick-off and make them start questioning themselves as football players, things could get ugly on Sunday afternoon.