I don’t know you, gentle reader, but I’m willing to bet that at some point during your childhood you were yelled at about doors.

I got yelled at a few times for hanging out by the back door on summer days with the door wide open. “Come in or come out,” my mother would yell, “but close the damn door!”

(In fairness, we did live in a state where the official bird was the mosquito.)

I thought about that when I read about Neal Ardley’s comments regarding current squad members and the transfer window.

I hadn’t heard that there were specific issues with players unhappy with their minutes, although I’m not entirely surprised if that’s the case. It happens everywhere and it’s something every manager has to navigate.

On the one hand I sympathise with players. No one gets into this line of work just to sit on the bench. Or at home. Every match a young footballer doesn’t play accelerates entropy.

Their fitness stalls, their skills become less sharp, and their potential value on the transfer market goes down. Being a footballer is a bit like being a shark— you have to keep moving or you die.

Having said that, I tend to side with Ardley on these sorts of things. The manager has one all-consuming goal: get us to the play-offs, if not automatic promotion.

With 21 games left in the campaign, everything else is a distraction. The boss has to do what he thinks is best to keep the season going into May. And right now that means sticking with the players who have delivered— like young Lyle Taylor.

I hope no one in the current squad leaves. But if they do, do it quickly. In or out, just shut the door already.