Brown urges York players to deal with huge play-off crowd
THE expectation on York City will be heavy this evening but having been through similar at Halifax Town, centre-back Matty Brown is determined to enjoy it.
York hope their fifth Conference North season is their last but for that to be the case they must beat Chorley at home tonight, Brackley Town away on the weekend, then win a June 5 London Stadium play-off final.
With over 5,000 tickets sold, tonight’s gate will hammer home the argument a club which spent 80 of its 100 years in the Football League should not be in tier six.
“The sooner people realise the club is in this league and we’ve got to get out of it, the sooner the problems will be addressed,” argues
31-year-old Brown. “We just have to do what’s necessary to get out of this league then take the next one step by step. You can’t get ahead of yourself.”
Brown won the 2017 Conference North play-offs in front of a record 7,920 at The Shay.
“There’ll only be a couple in our squad who’ve played in front of big crowds and you’ve just got to handle that,” he says.
“It will be a case of keeping the young lads on it, focused and not over-awed by the crowd.
“In 2017 we did it in a similar way. At Christmas we were 10th. We had to go away to Salford first, then played them at home, then Chorley in the final.”
York’s momentum came from November’s change of manager, and John Askey also led them to the FA Trophy semi-finals.
“He’s just got things back to basics, given everybody roles and responsibilities and not over-complicated things,” says Brown.
“The first few results weren’t great but we found a bit of momentum in January/February.
“The play-offs almost have a cup feel because there’s a lot more on them. It’s who can hold their nerve and ride their luck.”