There's no secret to Chester's recent success, just ask Connell Rawlinson
Chester are the form team in the National League North with two games left
It’s easy, this management lark, isn’t it?
It’s a phrase that Connell Rawlinson has heard plenty in recent weeks, with his interim role at Chester having surpassed all realistic expectations when he stepped into the void following Calum McIntyre’s February exit.
A record of six wins, one draw and one defeat, a last-gasp injury-time sucker punch by Southport on March 21, has seen Rawlinson take 19 points out of a possible 24 on offer, with the 1-0 win over National League North league leaders AFC Fylde on Saturday propelling Chester into the sixth and the play-off places.
That had seemed unthinkable at the turn of the year, but Rawlinson has been able to build upon the four wins in six games that McIntyre had overseen before his departure, and Chester, when it comes to the form guide over the past 15 games in the division, sit right at the very top.
The addition of Tom Davies, whose stunning goal on Saturday sealed the points, has been transformational, but so, too, has the decision to bring back Hayden Carson, as well as bringing in midfielder Scott Burgess in from the cold after much of the season spent watching from the stands.
Rawlinson had an idea what he wanted to implement when he took charge, and that was born from previous experience of playing a similar shape as a player. But even though he had confidence in the system and the group to be able to pull it off, the way the team has responded, and the success that they have delivered, have made for a start he could only have dreamed of.
“Yeah, if you’d have asked me at the start, I’d have snapped your hand off for this type of thing,” Rawlinson told The Seal.
“I know the style, the formation. It works because I’ve done it before as a player, so I knew if we could grasp it and we could deliver it, it was going to be good.
“The only thing that’s been surprising for me is how quickly they did it. They had more or less a structure to it and the tactics to it in the Darlington game, which was my first game. So the fact that they’ve got it that quick, game on game on game, and you train it all the time, repetition, repetition, it becomes natural to you.
“You can see at the minute now, lads are doing things not by thinking, just by instinct. That’s the way to go forward.
“But it’s been an outstanding run of form and it’s something we’re looking to continue.
“The fans come on the weekend and they see the 90 minutes, but they don’t see the hours of prep and the work that goes in during the week, and how hard the lads train. So yeah, it’s hard, but it’s enjoyable.”
There will be changes that need to be enforced this weekend for the trip to Oxford City, a side who are battling at the wrong end of the division but whose recent form over the last five games, a record of three wins and two draws, is the fifth best in the National League North.
Lewis Leigh saw red for a second bookable offence for his lunge late on against Fylde, and he will sit out the trip to Marsh Lane on Saturday. His absence will be a miss given the recent form of the former Crewe Alexandra midfielder, but Jack Bainbridge has made a return to fitness in recent weeks and is likely to be the man to step up.
Carson was withdrawn through injury at the break on Saturday after aggravating his hip flexor. He will be assessed this week and a decision made closer to the time on whether or not he will be involved.
Rawlinson said: “On Monday (before the 2-0 win at Macclesfield), Cars goes, ‘Look, I want to play.’ So I’ll trust the player’s judgement. If they say they can play. You’re never 100% at this time of the season anyway. You’re always probably 85–90% even at best.
“So yeah, we’ll just have a look. We might have to settle it down this week and go from there, but we’ll have to wait and see closer to the weekend whether he’ll be available or not.
“We always had a small squad anyway, but I prefer it that way because if you have too many senior players, you can only pick 11. It’s very hard to keep a group of 24, 25, 26 players all happy.
“So this is the trade‑off, having a smaller group. When you get injuries or knocks or suspensions, you have to move things around.
“But even looking at the bench (against Fylde), Tom Peers, Conor Woods, Bambo (Bainbridge) coming off the bench. They’re all senior boys. They’ve all been playing games, they’ve played a lot of football.
“So now, when people are suspended or carrying knocks, it’s up to others to come in and keep their shirt.”
Going to a game knowing how we are going to play and, barring injuries, who would be playing has been so enjoyable. Results help of course, but the consistency has been refreshing.
I've been a Chester fan for years. My favourite team was the Hauser team of the early 60s. Can still name the regular eleven. Why? Because they were successful and there was no need to chop and change personnel or the system.
Keep going Connel. Playoffs! Promotion!
Connell clearly has learnt a lot about coaching having played so much under different managers. It does make you wonder if, when Callum was the manager, he just kept his mouth shut or was ignored. Either way it must have been frustrating for him knowing he could get a tune out of the squad. The transformation, with no additions, has been incredible, all credit to the man.