AFTER a messy week off the pitch, amazingly Paolo Di Canio’s team still managed to stay focussed on the club’s automatic promotion dream.

Town are now third in the League One table after their ten-game unbeaten run and have the chance to go top if we beat bottom side Hartlepool Utd this Saturday and other results go their way.

The squad deserves real credit for the way they have continued to put in quality performances after all the off -field mayhem of the last couple of weeks.

Whenever a new era starts at a football club there is a big sense of anticipation of what the future holds – and that’s what seems to be annoying fans more than anything else in recent days.

Hopefully, the Football League will grant permission to the new owners to complete their takeover of the club and we can finally hear their intentions for the future.

Obviously one of the biggest worries is losing Di Canio, which almost looked inevitable last Friday after his personal statement.

He’s been a throwback to managers of the past, never spouting the normal football clichés or behaving like he was supposed to.

He’s been himself, and that’s why he’s been so popular.

Personally, I would hate to see him leave after all the success he’s brought in such a short amount of time.

But if he does decide to walk away, Swindon Town will remain, which is the most important thing.

Let’s hope he can at least stay until the end of the season, try to work with the new board and take us back to the Championship, 13 years after leaving it.

A big test is likely to be the reopening of the emergency loan window this week – hopefully it’ll be a busy day for Town.

The Marlon Pack swap deal, which would see Luke Rooney move to Cheltenham, looked like a done deal.

The main issues are with the loan signings of winger Danny Green and striker Bradley Wright-Phillips due to other clubs potentially hijacking the deals.

Both players would arrive from Charlton Athletic and would replace Matt Ritchie and Paul Benson respectively.

By Saturday, hopefully we would have added a couple of new players, have the new board in place and be ready to beat Hartlepool and keep moving up the table.

But with this being Swindon Town, I’d expect the ride to be a bit rougher before we reach the smooth.