Sunday is the day The Man has looked so, so forward to for more than a season.

It started with that trip to Poorman Road in spring 2009. Us singing of Jim Magilton’s impending sack, before we slipped away without a trace – both on that sickeningly sunny Sunday and from the Chumpionship.

We were rubbish, humiliated – and the Binners gloated about it.

They mocked us all summer, revelling in their ‘money’ and ‘manager’ and ‘ambition’. They thought it was all over.

Then we got our act together. We got a manager who, to be frank, the sun shines out of.

We got some proper players who give a carp.

We demolished a doldrums division in quick time... and now, we’ve got one loose end to tie up.

Because despite going cold turkey and shaking our spineless habits, despite finding in Lambo and McGnarly some people who can actually take our club forward, despite getting our players back... we still owe them one big fat face off.

At the same time, riled Roy has started to implode. The Binners can’t work out if they want to beat us and keep their boss, or lose and lose him.

And their best players? A handful of loans or signings all trying to relive the last time riled Roy was thought to be a decent manager.

So that Sunday in 2009, we collapsed and I****** still sacked Jim in the morning.

This time, this Sunday, let’s bring on the sacking in style.

• The Man was most definitely a Leon Barnett fan – even before Saturday.

OK, so he’s not the greatest with a football you’ve ever seen. But he does a great impression of a wall – one which the ball bounces off and disappears into the distance whenever it gets close.

He even managed to direct the ball into the net against dirty Leeds. Given he’s sent about 50 over the bar since he arrived on loan, I suppose he had to keep one down eventually.

And Leon deserved plenty of respect for giving the dirty Leeds fans the good old ‘cupped ear’ treatment.

Barnett’s goal seemed to have a funny effect on the guy next to him, Elliott Ward. The Man assumes they’ve got some sort of bet going on. Not since the days of Rob Newman has a centre-half seemed so fleet of foot.

Fair to say we’ve screwed up signing decent centre-halves who’ve been here on loan and wanted to stay longer in the past.

So for The Man, Barnett has to stay for the rest of the season. West Brom want it, he wants it, we want it. So board, make it happen.