John McGrathHELLO and welcome to my column for this week.
It’s been a hard week at York with the dismissal of manager Gary Mills after our defeat at home to Bradford City on Saturday.
He was in charge at Bootham Crescent for just over two-and-a-half years and what he achieved in that time was nothing short of miraculous.
He brought League football back to a club and city that was starved of it for eight years and also landed them the FA trophy.
To visit Wembley twice in one season is a great feat but to win there twice in one season is a tremendous achievement.
He was my manager at Tamworth in the early days of my career and always managed to get the best out of me personally and I would like to wish him all the best in his future managerial career.
Speaking to the boys at Burton, they were all disappointed with the result at Bristol Rovers, but putting that single result aside and looking at where we are in the league, we’re in a really positive position indeed.
With 10 games left, every team will be scrapping and fighting for every point available.
And with the all-important bank holiday weekend of fixtures coming up it’s vital to pick up as many points as possible.
The home form has been brilliant all season and to get promoted it needs to stay that way until the end of the season.
Cheltenham arrive at the Pirelli tomorrow for what could prove to be a pivotal battle for those all elusive play-off spots and it should be a fascinating battle between two of the best sides in the division.
I travel to South London and AFC Wimbledon with the York boys for our first game under new boss Nigel Worthington.
It’s a vital game for a different reasons for us as we look to pick up points to get us away from the relegation zone and the hard-fought battle going on down there.
I’ve also extended my loan for a further month at York which gives me another month of playing full first-team games.
It’s best for all involved – Burton, York and myself – that I keep myself fully match fit and I’m just enjoying playing after such a long spell out injured and then coming back to full fitness.
Good luck at the weekend to both my teams, Burton and York, and let’s hope, fingers crossed, that we make it a double delight come full-time on Saturday evening.
Be loud and be proud!
Macca 6
