GARY Bowyer is delighted to see City and the Valley Parade faithful back on the same page – and insists the fans have a huge part to play this season.

The current run of 16 points from seven games is restoring the feelgood factor and further banishing bad memories of their relegation nightmare.

Bowyer can sense his team is reconnecting once more with the supporters, whose increasingly vocal backing was evident again in the 1,765 sell-out at Morecambe last week.

He said: “It works both ways. You look at the number of fans that turn out week in, week out for us.

“It was very difficult to do last season because everything’s a habit – and the habit the club found itself in wasn’t a very good one.

“Once you get into the habit of finding something to moan about, you keep doing it.

“Last season, rightly so, the supporters had plenty to moan about.

“This season, hopefully, we’ve started in a way where even when things might go against us, which they will do at times, that they stick by us.

“They have a massive role to play and we’ve seen evidence of that so far this season.

“When we’ve gone a goal down at home, rather than turn against the team they go the other way and get us going. It also works vice-versa.

"It’s a relationship that keeps building and, like anything, it will take time.”

Hope Akpan has become the latest fall guy from last season to get back in the good books with the crowd after scoring three goals in his last four outings.

Richard O’Donnell and Anthony O’Connor have both restored their reputations among City fans with their impressive performances.

Bowyer added: “From what people tell me, it’s been over 18 months to two years (since supporters have really enjoyed watching games regularly).

“We live in a society where everybody wants it now, the latest phone, the latest iPad, laptop or whatever. That’s obviously the same in sport.

“People don’t seem to have much patience nowadays. We’re only 13 games in and we’ve still got a lot to come from us.

“The exciting thing for us is to look at the potential of the squad and where we think it can get to. But you can see the players are enjoying coming into work and enjoying the connection with the supporters."