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The National League North season is but 11 games old, but it feels like Chester have already experienced a campaign in miniature.
There has been hope and excitement, the euphoria of a four-game winning start, then the run that followed that caused some concern for some Blues fans, then the FA Cup highs and lows, not to mention the injury frustrations.
It has been a curious campaign. The positive has outweighed the negative significantly, and the brief five game challenging run after the rip-roaring start felt like it was Chester reverting to type. But to look at it objectively, the Blues are four points off top spot and sitting in fourth place. They have a young squad which manager Phil Parkinson feels will only get better, and he has retained a staunch belief that the trajectory is upward, especially given the fact he doesn’t believe that they have even started to hit their stride.
This weekend is a trip to sixth-placed South Shields, a team backed to be title challengers given the large financial backing they have received. But so far their record reads the same as Chester’s with six wins, two draws and three defeats, with a goal difference four worse than the Blues’ plus-five.
This weekend’s result won’t define a season, but it will be another important milestone in this season, and with the Blues having positioned themselves in the play-off places and within striking distance of the top, it carries significance.
“Fifth place and four points off the top is a fantastic position to be in, and given that I would have taken anywhere in the top half at this stage given the massive amount of changes that have been made I am delighted,” said Parkinson, speaking to The Seal.