Pierce Sweneey explains what he meant by volunteering for media duties so ‘no-one got into trouble’ after the Derby defeat, shoots down some social media conspiracies, and talks Movember in his latest column.By the time you read this, our Carabao Cup fourth round tie with Middlesbrough will be done and dusted (Ed note – City were beaten 3-2). Unfortunately, print deadlines mean I’m writing this column on the morning of the match, so you’ll have to wait until next week for my reflections on our game against the Championship outfit.

In the meantime, I’ll share my thoughts on our 2-0 losses at home to Wigan Athetic and away at Derby County, and Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Lincoln City. As you might imagine, it was something of a relief to bag a point against the Imps on Saturday. Of course, we’d have much preferred to take all three, but having lost our previous six League One fixtures – during which time we scored just one goal – it was great to at least stop the rot.

What is more, it was the first time this season we’ve avoided defeat having gone behind, so there were definitely some positives to take out from the game. While there were a few talking points, the one that springs most readily to mind is how on earth Lincoln’s Paudie O’Conner escaped with just a yellow card after hauling Vinny Harper back by the neck as he broke clear down the right wing with 10 or 15 minutes to go