THE WELCOME is always warm at Newport Gwent Dragons' training base in Ystrad Mynach but there were times at the end of last year when they were putting a brave face on.

The first half of the season has been a challenging one with the poor form of the end of last term continuing and injuries taking their toll.

It was always going to be tough for the raft of new recruits to settle in quickly but even the biggest pessimist would have expected a better return than three wins from 11 in the Guinness Pro12.

On occasions the Dragons went into games just looking to avoid a hammering, such as the home encounter with in-form Glasgow back in September.

They prepared for the game with just one fit senior centre, Ashley Smith, and he suffered a hamstring strain in the team run to leave the management team with a dilemma.

They had no option but to field on-loan Ospreys centre Ben John, who arrived just in time to be flung in at the deep end, but they needed to decide between teenager Barney Nightingale, who arrived for training with a letter of permission from his school, or novice fly-half Dorian Jones as his partner.

They opted for the latter and hoped for the best but Glasgow aren't dull, they took command of the game in the opening stages by running straight between Jones and burgeoning fly-half Angus O'Brien, who was covering for the injured Jason Tovey.

The episode shows how challenging things were in the opening months of the campaign with square pegs having to be put in round holes. The management duo of Lyn and Kingsley Jones have a reputation for being good-humoured but they must not have known whether to laugh or cry.

But the smiles were genuine when I went to their training base for the Dragons' media day this week thanks to the shock Boxing Day win against Cardiff Blues in the capital, a fourth success on the spin after sending Bucharest (twice) and Zebre packing.

Suddenly there is a spring in the Dragons' step and they are dreaming big again; no longer are they doomed to being Wales' worst region, no longer are they condemned to slumming it with the Italians at the bottom of the Pro12.

Which makes this afternoon's game so important; it can set the tone for the season.

There have been plenty of false dawns at Rodney Parade – only in October they followed a stunning win at Stade Francais with a home defeat to Newcastle – but January is massively important.

Momentum will be with either the Dragons or Blues depending on today's result, then it's another derby against the Ospreys (and Dan Lydiate) at the Liberty Stadium and then there are two massive European ties.

The region won four from four in December and three from four would make it a January to remember.

Plenty of fans have watched an awful lot of dross and were pushed over the edge by November's shocking home defeat and performance against Munster. They booed the Dragons from the field after a 9-7 half-time lead turned into a 38-12 loss.

The "just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in" quote from the Godfather is as appropriate as it is overused.

The win in Cardiff has reinvigorated the supporters and there will be a bumper crowd expecting a repeat this afternoon.

Produce the goods and the Dragons can count on a sizeable backing for their next game in Newport, a crunch Euro clash with French giants Stade Francais that could cement a spot in the quarter-finals of the Challenge Cup.

December exploits have earned the Dragons a shot at redemption. They must grasp it in January.