IT’S BEEN A YEAR TO SAVIOUR!
A YEAR ago, Notts County were on the brink of oblivion. Today, Neal Ardley’s team are on the cusp of a return to the Football League.
It is why, no matter what happens at Wembley this afternoon, the Magpies boss will look back on the last 12 months as a resounding success.
“Going up would mean so much,” says the former AFC Wimbledon manager, who ranks last season’s failure to prevent relegation from League Two as his bleakest moment in football.
“Getting that status back. Giving the owners success in their first year. A celebration after overcoming so much adversity.
“But the story of this club isn’t what happens today. The story of this club is where we were last season. How broken the club was, and how much wasn’t right.
“We’ve brought a connection back to the fans that was lost. Set a culture that’s given us a chance of success. The way the players have worn that badge has restored a lot of pride.
“That’s what I’m most proud of. And no matter what happens, they’ve done something remarkable for this football club. Promotion would be the cherry on top, but it doesn’t change what we’ve achieved.”
When Ardley arrived in November 2018 – the club’s third manager of a rapidly disintegrating season after Kevin Nolan and Harry Kewell – County were indeed a mess.
Focus
Hemorrhaging cash under former owner Alan Hardy and saddled with high-earning, under-performing players signed to play in League One, the 47-year-old was powerless to halt the terminus of the Magpies’ 131-year residence in the Football League.
“There were a lot of bad habits on a daily basis,” he says. “A lot of people who came for a paycheck and weren’t giving what they should have done.”
Even when the season began, things were far from rosy. A takeover by Danish brothers Alexander and Christoffer Reedtz was not completed until July 26, with 13 players subsequently procured without a sniff of pre-season training.
“I had to laugh when the bookies released their odds and made us favourites,” says Ardley. “I was thinking ‘Has anyone even looked what’s going on at this club?’. If they had, we’d have been a 1001 shot.
“We’ve got some sensible fans who said ‘We’re just happy to have a club’. Others who say ‘We’re Notts County and should be top by ten points’. But to be where we are now – for me and most of the fans – I’d like to think it’s a nice surprise.”
Ardley – who won a League Two play-off with AFC Wimbledon in 2016 – has a fully fit squad to choose from at Wembley, with striker Kristian Dennis back after a knock sustained in the 2-0 semi-final victory over Barnet. Now, only Harrogate, described by Ardley as “the toughest opponent we could have faced”, stand in their way.
“Everyone can play it down and says ‘It’s only a game, it’s not important, it’s this and that’. But everyone knows what’s riding on the game,” he admits.
“All you can do is focus on how we’re going to win a game of football. The players know what our schedule is. Our plan for the game on the day. If they’re as prepared as they can be, my job is largely done. Then it’s over to them.”