Playing Accrington is never a picnic.

Situated between Burnley and Blackburn, it’s a hike-and-a-half getting there.

It’s no place to leave empty-handed.

Playing badly (as we did on Saturday) makes the return journey seem endless.

We knew what to expect at Accrington - in the home fixture they were physical, street-wise and cynical.

We let Accrington set the agenda and control the crucial early part of the game.

It was like the old days when southern sides went up north and slunk home bumped and bruised having received a good kicking.

Accrington are not the only side this season to have reduced a game to an arm-wrestle, but previously we had held our own.

Not this time.

It was the day to prove that we still had enough quality and fight to bring home some reward, despite our injuries.

But we fell short.

To twist the knife, we defended badly against simple attacking ploys and conceded bad goals.

Football - if you care, it makes your spirits plunge one moment, and has them soaring a few days later.

Some fans find it a lot to cope with.

A player can be a target on Saturday, but cheered three days later.

Work that out! Enough said about Accrington.

And so, on to Tuesday, and a tussle with old foes Wycombe Wanderers.

When we played Wycombe in August they were in the doldrums with manager Gareth Ainsworth was under a lot of pressure from his home crowd.

There was a feeling that he had run his course.

Wycombe stuck with him and surged up the table during the winter, just like ourselves and Exeter City.

Wycombe have now gone into reverse gear, having lost eight games out of nine.

On Tuesday Ade Akinfenwa was a major influence as the pivot-player of the attack, far more so than in the away game.

Wycombe clearly took a while to learn how to use him and I’m sure he was not slow in saying what sort of service he needs.

I will always cut him some slack as he plays with a smile.

The goal that decided the game was a collector’s piece, a 25-yarder from George Elokobi that dipped over a stranded keeper into the net.

Where it came from only George knows, or probably not, actually.

The game was a test of Cameron James, making his full debut.

Let no-one say that some of our central defenders have an easy introduction into the team.

Not so long ago Frankie Kent opened with marking Aaron Wilbraham at Bristol City, shortly followed by Darius Henderson at Orient, with Joe Garner (Preston) soon to follow, all away from the comforts of home.

They are all built like Stonehenge.

Cameron faced an equally powerful opponent in Akinfenwa, and he did very well.

His temperament is so extraordinary that it is almost unnatural, and I make no excuse for using that word.

He has a deep calmness that defies his youth.

I always think that Tom Lapslie must have been born with a 30-year-old footballing head on his shoulders, and Cameron is much the same.

He doesn’t get flustered - ever.

I didn’t make the trek to Accrington last weekend.

I stayed nearer home and went down to Brisbane Road to watch second from bottom Orient take on third from bottom Notts County.

It felt like home when Orient were disrupted when a centre-half was stretchered off after six minutes and they had to reorganise.

U’s old boy Gavin Massey moved from a central striking role to wide on the left and had a blinder.

He was the best attacking player on the pitch by a wide margin.

Coming into the prime of his career and looking sleek, he was the perfect blend of skill, pace and intelligence.

Orient were applauded from all sides despite an unlucky 3-2 defeat, as they lost in adversity as their own personal hell continues.