Page 76 - Phonebox Magazine June 2013

SPORT PAGNELL TOWN
FOOTBALL
End of season interview with the manager
Newport Pagnell Town ended the season in dramatic style at Willen
Road to guarantee sixth place in the UCL Premier Division. The manager, Darren Lynch, scored the winning goal after coming on 15 minutes before the end of the nal match for his rst playing appearance since his retirement two years ago. A few days later I interviewed Darren and asked him for his views on the talking points of the 2012-13 season.
How would you sum up the season?
At the start of the season I was aiming for a top three nish, but sixth was satisfactory after the disruption we suffered because of injuries and suspensions to key players. Some of the younger lads stepped up to the rst team well when needed, especially in the away win at Sleaford, where several reserve team players did a very good job for us.
In several mid-season games Newport
dominated possession but couldn't create many scoring chances. What's your view of that?
I think we did create chances but we didn't take them. Luck in front of goal deserted us at times. Now that we are one of the league's better teams, many teams come here to defend and try to catch us on the break. We always play well against the top teams but sometimes struggle against lower teams, and we need to win those games against lower teams.
Are you content as a manager now or do you wish you could still be playing?
I miss playing, but being involved with the team as manager is the next best thing. Some people are saying that suspensions of key players cost us points. What's your response to that?
Two or three of the sendings off were unfair decisions. Few of the yellow cards were for dissent. With our competitive style of play, we will inevitably get some yellow cards
for mistimed tackles, and I don't want to change the way we play. However, I think our reputation in the eyes of some referees perhaps leads to yellow cards for some tackles which don't deserve them.
Do you think the overall standard of refereeing is as good as it should be at this level of football.
Referees have a dif cult job and they will always make mistakes, but this season we have had some blatant refereeing errors that they should not be making.
Do you have a squad that can challenge for the UCL league title next season or will you be looking to bring in some new players?
One or two players are retiring or moving away but I expect to have 90 per cent of the same squad. I hope to bring in two or three more players and am con dent that we will be challenging at the top of the league if we can avoid major injuries. I also want to aim for a good cup run, which always generates some excitement at the club.
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