LONG WAY TO GO NOW

AFTER our dismal Carling Cup defeat at Macclesfield, it hasn't been a good week.

We were all hoping for a good cup run like last season when we played Derby and Spurs, but it wasn't to be.

According to the Blackpool Gazette, the major highlight of the match was me playing the first 10 minutes in the wrong shirt. I only realised when their centre-half, Richard Walker, yelled out: "Oi, Ben! You've got Rehman's shirt on!"

I'm blaming Macclesfield's broom-cupboard-size changing rooms.

At least we got a point at Norwich on Saturday and I got my first goal, albeit a penalty. I was pleased to score because their centre-half had told me their keeper knew which way I was going to put it.

We've spent hours on the bus this weekend and we all have our own special ways of passing the time.

Claus Jorgenson is studying to be a pilot so he reads his books on cloud formation - he is usually sat on his own!

Some of the lads play cards on the back of the bus and I am currently trying to get a Mario Kart school going on the DS. Failing that, I'll watch a series of 24 or Entourage on my laptop.

Marcus Bean used to get on the coach, put his massive headphones on and fall asleep till we reached our destination. Andy Morrell liked to pretend he was an intellectual and do a crossword - usually from The Sun!

Steve Thompson, the assistant coach, will do a quiz for us if it's a particularly long journey but for some strange reason the staff table always wins.

In my Brentford days, Mark McCammon used to bring a full-size TV and his PlayStation on board and then challenge everyone to Pro Evo Soccer. The last resort, and only if you are really bored, is to talk to the person next to you - if you can persuade them to take off their headphones.

All of the above presumes that you actually make it on to the coach. When I was a Blackburn, we left Crystal Palace's ground in south London and were just heading out of the city when suddenly Craig Short blurted out: "Where's Egil?"

Yes, we'd managed to leave Egil Ostenstad behind. The consensus among the lads was to carry on without him but, after giving it a good deal of thought, the then manager Graeme Souness made us go back.