Stockport closing in on home tie in play-offs
STOCKPORT County boss Jim Gannon hailed his side as they took a huge step to securing fifth place – and a home tie in the National League North play-offs – with a 1-0 win at Blyth Spartans on Saturday.
Jimmy Ball’s crisp volley on the stroke of half-time was enough to get County over the line in the face of intense late pressure from Hatters legend Alun Armstrong’s side, who needed a result to keep their own play-off hopes alive.
The hard-fought win followed last Tuesday night’s battling 1-1 draw at play-off rivals Chorley, which sealed a top-seven finish for Gannon’s resurgent side – who now take their place as one of the form sides in the country with eight wins and a draw from their last 10 games.
He said: “I don’t know the statistics of home sides progressing in the play-offs, and just taking last season as an example, you had Chorley winning at Kidderminster away after losing the first leg at home. But every small advantage counts and, given our recent home form, it’s great to get a home game first up.”
Gannon this week moved to secure two of his backroom staff to permanent deals.
Strength and conditioning coach Nick Donnelly, and physio Luke Smith have both penned extensions to their deals at County in a move that will see the duo work with Gannon and the playing squad as The Hatters move to a ‘hybrid’ structure made up of both part-time and fulltime players.
“It’s a huge bonus for us. I trust both of them, they’re extremely professional and well-qualified and are a huge part of what we do here. You can see from the extra sessions we’ve been putting on that it’s helping the lads in terms of fitness and performance,” said Gannon.