With games against their relegation rivals imminent, CHRIS SUMPTER looks at why February could well prove to be a defining month for Scunthorpe United.

If January was to be the month that defined the Iron's fortunes by what happened off the pitch, February is almost certain to do the same on it.

A hectic final few hours of last week's transfer deadline day brought the arrival of much-needed strength and experience, but it is now wins the club need to  recruit if there is to be some light at the end of what has been a dark, season-long tunnel.

Friday night's heavy frost put paid to arguably Scunthorpe's biggest game of the season so far at the weekend, the visit of fellow strugglers Walsall to Glanford Park.

The failure to get the chance to build on the return of a feel-good factor was a disappointment, but one the Iron must not let manifest itself into greater issues.

Indeed, the next eight days were always going to be equally as vital to their fortunes.

On Saturday, Scunthorpe head to Yeovil Town, their longest trip of the campaign, and then host second bottom Rochdale.

Never mind the so-called Ides of March, the potential pitfalls of February are clear.

At half-time in those games that did beat the big freeze on Saturday, the Iron's day looked as bleak as the weather.

Wycombe led 2-1 against Tranmere, Chesterfield were a goal-up at Carlisle and, most impressively, Yeovil were beating Sheffield Wednesday.

Only the former of that trio held on to win, pushing Scunthorpe down a place in the immediate standings, but doing little to affect the long-term picture.

For all the possible permatations on matchdays, the campaign is still fortunately very much at the stage where United manage their own destiny.

But be as big a soft-touch as they too often have been in the final, pressure-laden, minutes of matches, or as welcoming as the Iron were to Sheffield Wednesday a fortnight ago, and the going will be similarly tough to what it has been date.

It is no doubt courtesy of his years of managerial experience that Alan Knill quickly bats away suggestions that any of their triumvirate of tests against their relegation rivals are the proverbial 'six-pointers'.

So quickly, indeed, it happens before such a question can even be asked.

But the importance of the next few weeks must not be under-estimated.

Neither should the opposition.

While Scunthorpe kicked their heels nine days ago, with scheduled opponents Sheffield United in FA Cup action, the Glovers kicked on, with their 2-1 success against Preston North End forcing the Iron into the bottom four for the second time this term.

Knill is adamant such a scenario means little at this stage of the campaign, a statement to which there is more than a modicum of sense.

But like the many fans who have wrestled with what has so far proved to be false hope, the Iron boss accepts his side need to quickly string together a succession of victories – something they have yet to manage this term.

"All year we've had the chance to get away, but we've not managed to do it for one reason or another," he stressed on the subject last week.

"February is a busy month, but it's down to us. We desperately need to start doing something pretty quickly.

"We keep saying performances are good and that we're playing quite well, but we have to win. The only way you do that is to be mentally stronger.

"It's so close, but then we can all talk about how close it is. We have to go out there and prove we're good enough to get the points.

"I think we can. Last month I think we were quite good, but we didn't pick up the points we should have.

"We were in the lead in two of the games and drew, but that's a common theme of the season. When you take the lead you have to go on and win games."

A look back at the past five seasons shows a minimum of 48 points has been necessary to secure third tier safety.

That means the Iron have to pick up 23 from their remaining 19 games, a modest figure, but one to which perspective adds concern given they have mustered just 25 from 27 matches to date.

While they have at least one game in hand on the rest of the bottom seven, commonsense, when applied to league position, suggests it's rare that a side in United's predicament will pick up three points from each of those fixtures.

Saturday's postponement is indicative of United's fortunes this season.

The arrival of Jon Parkin and return of David Mirfin had brought an injection of excitement back to Glanford Park, at the best possible time in correlation with their fixture list.

And while both players will be vital to their long-term ambitions, the fact they will now make their debuts almost 250 miles away, in front of a select band of travelling fans at Huish Park, undoubtedly peels away some of the gloss.

Positive results, especially with a couple of wins inside the next fortnight, will make the situation look much rosier and give United a platform on which to hinge the remainder of their campaign.

Whatever happens in the long run, there needs to be a significant improvement on what has gone before.

Knill is right when he states that performances, in the main, have been acceptable.

But results, and particularly the circumstances in which they have so often been squandered, have not.