Balancing the books and challenging for the playoffs should not be mutually exclusive events. The board have done a supremely good job of steadying the ship (once again) after the deficit from last year. They have also made it very clear that funds are now available to the manager to strengthen the squad.
Therefore, it's now over to the manager to deliver his side of the bargain. Aside from a few dissenting voices on here, I think the majority of us have given Lee the benefit of the doubt, but we're going to need a really barnstorming second half to this season if we're to achieve our short term aim of reaching the playoff places and staying there. We've done good things on our travels this season and had a decent cup run, but that is currently offset by some truly woeful home form. I believe, barring 2 or 3 additions, the nucleus of a good squad is already basically there, so it's not all doom and gloom. We've got no more room for cock-ups though, or our season could effectively be over by the end of January if we don't step things up.