Micky Adams has yet to tell me if his tombstone will carry the inscription of his legendary quote "Fail to prepare, prepare to fail."

Last week was all about preparation for the Albion squad and their faithful support.

The Grimsby game should have been a banker, the Mariners were down with nothing to play for. All Albion had to do was arrive at Blundell Park, play their normal game for 90 minutes and pick up the three points.

It was what would happen at the Britannia Stadium that had me wondering - would Stoke play for the draw or go all out for the win?

Would Alan Pardew field a weakened team? Would Reading want to finish third and break club records in the process? If Rougier and Sidwell played for the Royals, would that tip the scales in our favour?

So many questions - I felt I had been sitting in Magnus Magnusson's leather chair with the spotlight beaming down.

Perhaps when Albion booked their overnight accommodation it might have been an idea for the hotel to have let them know there were three separate wedding receptions booked on Saturday night.

Physio Malcolm Stuart may have won the karaoke competition but it wasn't the best night's sleep the squad have had this season.

I made a bad start to Sunday. Our driver overslept so a 5.30am departure from Chez Hart turned into 6.10pm. The said driver then omitted to tell us that because of his situation with penalty points, he was unable to go much above 65mph for fear of being nicked for speeding.

Perhaps I should have had an inkling it wasn't going to be our day when we were overtaken by two milk floats and a stray tortoise on the M1.

As always, the Albion support was magnificent. Many fans arrived on Humberside resplendent in fancy dress. Amongst the characters I counted were three Dolly Partons, two Saddam Husseins, Gareth Gates, Gandhi (Mr and Mrs) and Charles Manson.

The game was best described by one of my Southern Counties Radio listeners as like watching a plane crash in slow motion. A strong wind, difficult pitch and two questionable penalties got Albion through to half-time and there was still hope that Reading might be galvanised into action at Stoke.

It got better early in the second half. Danny Cullip's goal had us all thinking this was going to be Albion's day - for all of six minutes and 53 seconds.

News of Ade "Panicbuy's" header for Stoke left the atmosphere in Albion's half of Blundell Park like a Doris Stokes gig. Grimsby equalised but did it really matter? By all accounts, Reading could have played until Corrie started and still wouldn't have scored one, let alone two goals.

Needless to say, the radio phone-in was emotional. Dick Knight took the brunt of the fans' anger but what is he guilty of?

Yes, Steve Coppell should have been appointed after his first interview last summer. The chairman made a mistake, he's not the first person at the Albion to do that and he won't be the last. But one thing is for sure, the Albion will be back!