This from the National League:
It’s time to meet your big winners in the National League North for January after a fastpaced start to 2023.
When AFC Fylde appointed Adam Murray back in November, the club weren’t even in the play-off places.
Ten points off the top, it already looked like a top seven finish at best for the Coasters.
But they dropped just two points from six league outings in January and they played quite a few fellow promotion contenders.
Seeing off Chorley, Banbury, Southport, Buxton and Scarborough, they couldn’t quite complete the set after drawing with Chester.
They ended January with just one defeat in 13 National League North games – including 11 wins in that run.
Nobody in the North has scored more points than Fylde since Murray was appointed – only King’s Lynn come close, but even they were still five points adrift by the end of January.
There was not too much debate about the Manager of the Month!
But when it comes to picking the Player, it’s usually far from straight forward.
All manner of things have to be taken into consideration when handing out the award.
When someone who isn’t a centre-forward is banging them in, they do tend to catch the eyes.
Dom McHale is certainly attacking, and he has become a huge driving force in Gloucester City’s play-off push – impressing on loan first before signing a deal until the end of the season.
The Tigers finished January four points outside top seven in North, and he scored four and assisted four last month.
The talented playmaker even scored two goals in three minutes against Blyth Spartans and notched the winner against Hereford.
McHale isn’t a one month wonder either, notching two against Bradford PA as February started in superb style.