Easter is a difficult time to be a footballer, especially one playing at the very top level like Pharrell Bell.

Despite what you all think, life as a professional footballer isn't all about the Aston Martins, gangs of screaming girls and cocktail parties on luxury yachts.

We actually put in a lot of hard yards behind the scenes - and I really don't think fans truly understand the sacrifices that we have to make just to keep you entertained for 90 minutes on a Saturday afternoon.

You guys were able to fully enjoy the Easter break. You had time to sit down and reflect on its true meaning; some time with the family, opening chocolate eggs together, maybe enjoy a big roast supper before spending the evening supping lager in the pub, knowing you didn't have to go to work the next day.

You know what Pharrell Bell was doing on Easter Sunday? Training. And it sucked. Easter is a low point in the year for me, no doubt about that. As a professional footballer, I can cope with Christmas, because buying presents reminds me how much money I have.

I don't want to sound arrogant here, but Christmas is a time of year where I can be a little bit extravagant, you know? I've worked hard for my American Express Gold card and I think it's only right that there is one time of the year when I can flash it about a bit.

Christmas is a time that highlights how lucky I am. It reminds me that I am a bit more comfortable than most of you guys. But Easter? What does my money buy me at Easter that Average Joe cannot dip into his overdraft to buy himself?

A massive chocolate egg? Great. I couldn't eat it anyway. The nutritionist at the club almost had a heart attack last week when I told her I wouldn't need breakfast because I'd grabbed a sausage-and-egg roll on the way in to training. Imagine what she'd say if I told her I'd gone a bit mental in Thornton's.

No, Easter can be a difficult time to be a professional footballer. It tends to be the time when it suddenly dawns on players that they are just a few games from promotion or relegation, or a European place, or a cup final.

Everyone starts to get a bit tense, a bit tetchy. It's not a time for practical jokes, that's for certain. A couple of days ago when me and Smithy were feeling a bit mischievous, we attached a pair of child's stabilisers and a pretty pink basket on to the scooter our Italian goalkeeper rides into training.

When he found out it was us, he pulled something out from under the seat and began walking towards us, screaming something in Italian while waving a pistol about in the air!

It took three of our biggest defenders to wrestle him to the ground and prise the gun from his bucket-like hand, while me and Smithy hid in the showers.

We've all made up now, but it was pretty hairy for a time. I won't be picking on Alberto again. People often say that goalkeepers are usually a little bit crazy. Now I understand what they mean.

The mood around the club is made even more tense and edgy because Easter is also the time of year when clubs are thinking about which players they are going to offer new contracts to, and which they are going to let go.

Thankfully, my new £25k-a-week deal means I'm one of the lucky ones. I don't have to worry about anything for the next three years – but it's always fun to wind up the youngsters with just a few months left on their contract.

I don't know why it gets under their skin so much. They're only on a few hundred quid a week anyway, it's not like they are going to lose much even if they aren't offered a new deal. It's a bit sad really. I guess some people are just obsessed with money.

Thanks again for all your comments. It's great to read that so many of you people like the blog, even if there is a small minority who don't. I think they probably need to lighten up a little, stop being so jealous.

As I've said, there is more to being a footballer than the fame, adulation and £25k-a-week contracts. There is a lot of sacrifce and hard work that goes on behind the scenes. I hope my blog is allowing readers to see that.

If I can change just one reader's perception of modern-day footballers, then I think this blog has been a success.