It would be remiss of me not to pen a few words about the real surprise of the season, the form and rise of Neal Eardley.

To call it a surprise is perhaps insulting to the player. He’s played top-flight football, he’s never had to drop into League Two before this season and at 28 he is still in his prime. However, serious injury can destroy a player and he’s spent a majority of the past three seasons rehabilitating when he could have been playing.

As the season opener drew closer our lack of full-backs became something of a concern. Sam wasn’t fully fit which left just Sean Long at right back. Danny moved late in the day to bring Eardley to the club, he’d been training the week before Wycombe and signed on the Thursday before the game. I’ll confess, as happy as I was to get him I did have a nagging doubt as to whether he’d be the player he once was.

As the season has progressed Eardley has been consistent and reliable on either side of the defence. I can’t even say he’s grown into the position because the first game he played he looked class and he’s gone on from there. It can be tough for a right back to get Man of the Match, especially if the rest of the team are playing well, but Eardley has been in the top three or four players every single game.

He reads the game so well, he’s composed on the ball and rarely panics in possession. He’s strong in the tackle, hard but fair, and has a turn of pace too. He’s not frighteningly quick, but he’s no slouch and doesn’t often get done by a speedy winger.

The highlight of FA Cup First Round day was hearing he’d triggered an extension until the end of the season

The highlight of FA Cup First Round day was hearing he’d triggered an extension until the end of the season, he’s certainly done enough in my eyes to earn at least that. He offers cover on both sides of the park which has meant Danny can sidestep the issue of being light in that area as effectively Neal is two players. If we did have another Neal Eardley, both Sam and Sean would be on the bench, that I guarantee.

Today he has been nominated for Sky Bet League Two Player of the Month alongside some heavy hitters. Mikael Mandron and Tom Pope are on the four-man list, both strikers who scored four and seven goals respectively. Luke Berry completes the list, he’s the Luton midfielder signed from Cambridge at the start of the season. He scored a hat trick in their 7-1 destruction of Stevenage and has looked better with every game. It’s a strong list of players, for an Imps defender to be there underlines how important our defensive work is and perhaps how little attention we pay to it due to the goal drought.

I suspect Tom Pope will win, but simply being recognised is great for Neal. I can’t imagine what his injury-hell must have been like, what sort of strain that puts on a person, but he’s come back as resolute and focused as any player I’ve seen. Far from letting his nightmare get the better of him, he has applied himself well and has started to rebuild his career.

Now, here’s something out of the blue: If this form continues, what price on him getting a call up for Wales? Chris Gunter is their current right back, but with his natural inclination to play either side, he might be a useful addition to any national squad. If he keeps playing as he is doing, I don’t think it is beyond the realm of possibility.

Third-tier defender Tom Lockyer (Bristol Rovers) was called up for the Panama and France friendlies this weekend, showing that Coleman is willing to drop down the leagues to find his players. Gethin Jones (Everton U23s) and Ethan Ampadu (Chelsea) were also both new-faces called up, both are defenders with Jones playing right back. Ben Davies of Spurs and Neil Taylor of Aston Villa fill the left-back slots at present, so there’s no shortage of quality defenders in the Welsh set up. However, if Eardley does keep up his form he’ll surely be knocking on the door the next time Chris Coleman looks to freshen up his squad.