Peter Murphy’s first season in football management proved to be a successful one as he guided the Black and Golds to a mid-table finish in League Two.
The former Carlisle United defender inherited just three players with the squad having been decimated following the departure of his successor, Jim Chapman, who opted to join Clyde and take several influential players with him to Cumbernauld. It left Murphy with the tricky task of completely rebuilding the squad.
It didn’t come as a huge surprise when they made a difficult start to the season, winning just four of their opening 14 matches and it looked like a relegation battle might be on the cards. Murphy made the sensible decision to concentrate on management rather than playing and he made them difficult to beat.
They enjoyed a real upturn in fortune over the winter months and set a new club record of nine league matches unbeaten. It saw them briefly flirt with the play-offs but they lost their form, winning just three of their next 14 games and eventually had to settle for a 7th place finish in the table.
One of Murphy’s strengths was settling on a settled starting XI which included some impressive displays from goalkeeper Alex Mitchell whilst Allan Smith and Blair Henderson formed one of the most productive strike partnerships in the division. Henderson finished as leading goalscorer with 15 goals.
Their biggest strength however was in defence, with just 41 goals conceded in 36 league matches. Captain Steven Swinglehurst was the mainstay of the side and was voted player of the season.
The Black and Golds already look set for a much-calmer summer with Murphy having already tied up over ten players on new contracts for next season.
