I DON'T think we deserved to lose Saturday's game against Charlton. The players did pretty much everything we asked of them and it was a cruel piece of misfortune which gifted the Addicks the one-and-only goal of the game.

Admittedly, we didn't create too many gilt-edged chances ourselves but, then again, nor did Chris Powell's all-conquering team.

I can't recall Artur having a save to make and, on the balance of play, I think a draw would have been about the right result.

Our goalscoring problems have been well documented over the last few weeks and, forget all this talk about the beautiful game, I'd be happy enough to see one deflect in off David Noble's mohican or Logie's backside right now.

Be that as it may, I don't think we're doing too much wrong – the simple reality is that scoring is probably the hardest part of the job and, minus a master craftsman such as Jamie Cureton, we're finding it hard to put the ball in the back of the net.

It would be easy to blame the frontmen, but we're looking for as big a contribution from the rest of the side going forward as we get from our strikers defensively and the whole team must accept responsibility for the dearth of goals which has plagued us over the past couple of months.

It was good to see Matt Taylor and Ben Hamer back at the Park and I was delighted that Matt got the kind of ovation his commitment to the club deserved. It's just a shame that him and Ben must have enjoyed their return to their old stomping ground a little bit more than we might have liked.

Unfortunately, Bradley Wright-Phillips didn't receive quite such a warm welcome and was once again the target of some vile abuse.

Don't get me wrong, I want Exeter City supporters to make coming to St James's Park a thoroughly uncomfortable experience for visiting players but, call me old-fashioned, I don't think there's any place for obscene chants about a player's mother.

While it's disappointing to lose Scott Golbourne to Barnsley, he's been great for us since signing from Reading two and a bit years ago and deserves an opportunity to test himself at a higher level. Scotty was one of the most athletic players in our squad and, overlooking his tendency to shank the occasional cross, had the ability to go with it – I reckon he'll do just fine in the Championship.

Of course, Scott's not the first left-back to progress from St James's Park to the Championship in recent years – George Friend and Dean Moxey both trod a similar path – and fingers crossed my fellow Bristolian won't be the last to successfully make the step up.

I read in the Charlton programme that, with John Coleman moving from Accrington to Rochdale, Tis is now the sixth longest-serving manager in the country, behind such luminaries as Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and David Moyes.

Occasionally people from outside the club question Paul's ambition and wonder why he hasn't been tempted by any of the offers he has received from higher up the footballing pyramid.

The reality is that Tis is hugely ambitious and, I'm sure, dreams of managing a Premier League team one day.

But, in the meantime, he is driven by a desire to be the man who leads this club into the Championship for the first time in its history.

For me, that reflects not a lack of ambition but quite the opposite.

On Saturday we travel to Bournemouth who, like us, have struggled for goals this season. Unlike the Cherries, I can guarantee you we won't be shelling out £80,000 – let alone £800,000 – on a striker any time soon.

Matt Tubbs' goalscoring record speaks for itself and I dare say Lee Bradbury's latest acquisition will take the step up to League One in his stride.

Nevertheless, I can't help but wonder what will happen if the Russian investor who's currently ploughing so much money into the club tires of his latest plaything and disappears.

The beauty of our supporters' trust model is that while we won't be signing any £800,000 strikers, we can at least rest safe in the knowledge that the club's majority shareholder will never up sticks and walk away and, ultimately, I'd suggest that's an even more valuable asset.

Bournemouth have done well since they played us at the Park in September, moving to within a couple of points of the play-off places.

We can take plenty of positives from our defensive solidity over recent weeks and I see no reason why we shouldn't go to Dean Court, or anywhere else in League One for that matter, and grab a result.

The Siege Army is sure to be in good voice for what's almost a local derby. Let's hope we've got our goalscoring boots on and can give them something to really shout about.