It's been freely admitted from boardroom level to those in the dressing room and the manager's office that the side should have done better with the season - frustration clearly abound throughout the club.

One soul who perhaps has just cause to feel a touch more aggrieved than most is midfielder Simon Russell, who missed the best part of the first half of the season with a series of injuries.

Watching on from the sidelines as he battled his ailments, the club's longest-serving player was rendered helpless to help his team mates early on.

Speaking to us ahead of today's game with Rushden & Diamonds at Aggborough, Russell reflected: "It was one injury after another at one stage, but it's part of football and you have to get on with it, although it was annoying to watch the lads play and be doing all the things you have to do when you're injured

"You just get through it and now I'm back playing, I've come out the other side.

"I've been in and out of the side since I came back from injury, but the last few weeks I've been playing regularly, and my own style of football and I'm enjoying it - and I think I'm doing quite well.

"I thought I did quite well last season, it was probably my most productive season.

"I played a lot of games and scored the most goals I've scored in a season and got a lot of assists.

"But I've scored five goals this season, having played 19 games and last season I got six goals in 45 games.

"So in my head I still think I'm improving and I'm quite happy with the goals I've scored up until now, but I still want more."

It's that itchy time of year for most players at this level of the game - one-year contracts are heading for expiration, and every effort is being made to ensure that new deals are handed out come the summer.

It's for this among many other reasons that Russell was keen to insist that no football season will ever be allowed to peter out into nothingness, with livelihoods on the line.

Indeed, even if some are told their futures lie away from Aggborough come the end of the season, their current efforts more than any would be likely be judged upon before any deals are dished out elsewhere.

He went on: "Obviously it's a difficult situation when you are only signed on one year contracts.

"The lads who are up at the end of the season are playing for new contracts here, but also obviously you have to think of yourself in the shop window in a way, just in case it's a 'no' at the club you're at and you have to try and impress someone else who might notice you.

"You have to play well to earn something new, so there is a lot to play for.

"You can get some players who don't want to try, but when you think about it, it could be the last set of games you play as a professional footballer should you get released and no-one else takes you, you have to give it everything.

"I think the lads do want to give it their all, you can't just go through the motions."

After a couple of games on the road at Stevenage and Exeter, Harriers find themselves back with home comforts this afternoon, the first action at Aggborough since the two excellent wins over Stafford and Grays earlier this month.

The side have been beaten six times on their own patch in the Blue Square Premier this season, but the mood has been good since the back-to-back home successes.

But just what is the difference between seven goals and two clean sheets in a week, and the performances against the likes of Weymouth and Salisbury?

Midfielder Russell commented: "I think it's a bit of a confidence thing. Obviously Stevenage beat us and went second in the league the other week; but I didn't think it was the case that they looked second and we looked a team in 13th place.

"It comes from all over the pitch. I think we concede some awful goals, and if we cut them out, we would beat Stevenage 1-0 or 2-0 and I think that's the whole season summed up to an extent.

"It was like the Droylsden game; if we had kept a clean sheet, we wouldn't have been beaten by that goal - it sounds really simple but those are the basics we're working hard to put right.

"We need to cut those sorts of things out - and it's not just those players at the back.

"There have been goals that have come from the strikers not closing down or someone not making a tackle and it ends up as a goal - we need to cut out these silly mistakes.

"Against Stafford and Grays here we were solid defensively, and going forward we were great."

Old foes Rushden make their second trip to Aggborough of the season, having already arrived and conquered in the Setanta Shield in late February - a 3-1 success for the Northamptonshire side.

The former Hull City winger warned:"They have a few good players who I personally rate highly and they are dangerous.

"Obviously we are at home, and if we can play anything like we did in our last home games then I think we can beat anyone in this league."