THE match at Macclesfield was more than a victory, it was a massive message to the National League - Forest Green are the real deal.

There is so much evidence for this. Firstly the strength of the squad. This was demonstrated by the performances of Aarran Racine and Rob Sinclair, neither previous regulars. On the right of the defence Aarran was majestic. Strong on the ground and in the air and overlapping down the wing he built on his good display against Aldershot.

Rob Sinclair was deservedly man-of-the-match. Playing in the holding midfield role Rob used his lively footballing brain to good effect, anticipating opposition attacks, then setting our forwards on the move. His return to the side has shown how many players we have for manager Mark to call on, players who are both match-winners and match-savers.

Collectively our defence was awesome. Macclesfield were allowed just three shots. Dan Wishart was on occasions beaten for pace, but Ethan Pinnock was on top form. I wish I could remember who it was laughed when I compared Ethan to Alan Hansen. This was early in the season. No one would dare laugh now!

Squad depth enables us to change the squad without weakening it. Manager Mark can pick teams that are quite properly "horses for courses". How many of us anticipated flair players Frear and Marsh-Brown being on from the start. This meant Macclesfield were asked questions they did not expect to have to answer. We now have a team that is far from stereo-typed.

Last season from Boxing Day on we were found out and the slump in results proved it. Losing 4-1 at Torquay started a slump to which we had no answer.

This will not happen now because of our greatest asset, manager Mark. Tactically alert and aware Mark can within a game change our formation and approach. He is not afraid to gamble, but in so doing will not compromise our passing game. we have plan A, but with many variations. The players are able to respond to this because Mark heads a quality coaching team. Look how comfortable they look on the ball.

Now for an admission. Mark has won me over. I started this season looking for evidence that he could manage at this level. Now I have it in spades. One aspect stands out. He is always aiming higher, always anxious to raise the bar. He looks at our performances with a critical eye.

His balanced view is something neither of his predecessors possessed. Take Saturday at Macclesfield. He was concerned about the amount of passing back our team did. There was no gloating about are league position. "We are where we are" was how he summed it up. Would we want it any other way? Mark knows that to win this league we have to build our house on the rocks, knowing we have got no further than laying the foundations. I cannot want to walk in the front door, finding League Two on the other side.

Now for Lincoln with their wonderful away record, followed by Tranmere who last season crushed us here. What a prospect for us all. Onwards and upwards.