FINALLY, I CAN SLEEP AT NIGHT
WEMBLEY winner Luke Williams doffed his cap to his predecessors in the Notts County dugout having finally rid himself of sleepless nights.
The Meadow Lane boss paid tribute to the influence of Neal Ardley – now in charge of Solihull Moors – and current Anderlecht assistant Ian Burchnall after the Magpies returned to the EFL via a penalty shootout victory over Chesterfield in the National League Promotion Final.
It finally saw through part one of the turnaround that Danish owners Alexander and Christoffer Reedtz envisaged after a trio of play-off heartbreaks since County’s drop from League Two.
“The club has been rebuilding since the owners came here,” said Williams. “The work that Neal Ardley did, the work that Ian Burchnall did, it was incredible, I am continuing work that has already been done and it feels like a club that is building momentum.
“We are continuously trying to make improvements year-on-year and now we have a brilliant opportunity to try to continue that momentum and climb the EFL.
Momentum
“Neal did an amazing job to help get the wheels in motion for a more modern team on the pitch. Ian carried on that work and created a much more modern-looking Notts County team, trying to simulate top-level football.
“Now it has become my responsibility to try to continue that work and this is a massive moment to try to continue rebuilding the image and the brand of Notts County, trying to take it forward to where it should be.”
After seeing his side finish second to Wrexham with more points – 107 – than any previous champion, Williams was put through the wringer throughout a bloodand-thunder 120 minutes and spot-kicks at Wembley, during which the spectre of any slip-up was never far away.
“The thing that stopped me sleeping for more than three hours at night was the worry of hitting a bump we couldn’t quite get over, because I imagine we would have lost our best players had we not won,” he added.
“Then, there would be a huge burden on the recruitment. If you don’t get that absolutely nailed on you can have a slow start, maybe someone else starts incredibly well and with one automatic place the league can be over before you get to grips with it. That worried me.
“Now we have a more realistic chance of keeping our key players, a more attractive package to offer more talent to join us and we have this momentum behind us.
“We have closed the door on the club’s worst time since its beginning, I really hope we have shut the door on that and now we are trying to walk through the next door.
“Had we hit that bump, you don’t know how long it would have taken to get over so it was a massive moment in the history of the club.”