'WE HAD NO HOPE, BUT NOW WE'RE IN A DIFFERENT PLACE'

As DAVE Challinor basks in the glow of Stockport County’s promotion to League One, he takes a moment to reflect on the day he joined the club as a player in 2002.

- Chris Dunlavy

“They were in the Championship then, but the whole thing was falling apart,” recalls the 48-year-old. “They were selling off parts of the ground. Sale Sharks were coming to play rugby on the pitch. It was the beginning of the end, really. The start of that downward spiral.”

Stockport set a host of unwanted records that season. An 11-game losing run. The earliest relegation in post-war history.

Few thought things could get much worse, yet within 12 years the Hatters were plying their trade in Conference North having narrowly avoided liquidation.

Their resurrection took a long time to get off the ground, but the rocket fuel provided by Mark Stott’s takeover in 2020, coupled with Challinor’s return as manager a year later, means Stockport can once again dream of Championship football.

Promotion - their third in five years - was secured with a 2-0 win over Morecambe last weekend. “It was a strange one because we still wanted the title,” says Challinor. “So there was no big celebration. We were actually in training on Sunday morning.”

Two days later, Notts County were demolished 5-2 at Meadow Lane to finish the job and start the party.

Challinor is quick to pay tribute to Stott, a property tycoon and boyhood supporter whose generosity has funded a new training ground, built a formidable squad and written off over £7m worth of debt.

“Mark’s arrival was pivotal,” says Challinor. “He came in with a clear plan, and even if that doesn’t always work, it means everyone is aligned on what things should look like.