Ellison so proud of his champions
● The champagne corks are popped and the silverware is lifted as Runcorn Linnets players celebrate winning the Hallmark Security League Premier Division title and earn promotion to the Evo-Stik League.
RUNCORN LINNETS boss Michael Ellison reckons winning the Hallmark Security League Premier Division crown is the proudest achievement of his career.
Ellison, who took over in 2016 after making more than 200 appearances for the club during his playing career, guided Linnets to the 100-points mark on their way to the title.
When asked if it was his finest hour in football, the manager replied: “It certainly is. It had been a case of being so-close-yetso-far, and it was harder this year because two teams were going up Teams have been thinking ‘There’s two teams going up here, we’ve got a chance’.
“Everyone has thrown everything they had at it. To do it this year has been a lot tougher and I’m pleased to get it over the line.”
Linnets lifted the title in front of arch-rivals Runcorn Town – who narrowly missed out to Widnes FC for the second automatic promotion slot – but Ellison admitted he had mixed emotions on the day.
Linnets lost out 1-0 to Chris Herbert’s side, and the boss said it took several hours to process the defeat.
“I was disappointed to be honest!” he laughed when asked to describe his emotions upon lifting the title.
“The game was awful. It was hard to watch and I felt sorry for those who had paid to get in and watch, but I suppose it was all about lifting the trophy.
“That part was great. To watch the lads, who have been the nearly-boys for so many years, I was made up for them to win it.
“There’s a lot of them who were in the sides that finished second three times, so it was a nice moment for them.”
Linnets led the table since Box- ing Day, when they thrashed rivals Runcorn Town 5-0 at Pavilions, and Ellison says consistency
.“has been the key hallmark of their success.
“The statistic I’m most pleased about is that since I’ve been here we haven’t lost back-to-back games.
“Every time we had a poor result or poor performance I got a reaction from the players. That’s the sign of a good team.
“The consistency has been really good this season. I’m really pleased with that. Hopefully we can continue like that next season and don’t struggle because I believe most of these lads are Evo-Stik players.”