AFC Fylde boss Adam Murray believes champions fulfilled destiny

The Coasters finished two points clear at the top thanks to Saturday's 2-0 win at relegated Bradford Park Avenue, regaining a National League place after three years.

Head coach Murray told The Gazette: “This level has surprised me. The standard was shown by the fact virtually every club had something to play for in the final game.

“But I always had a feeling it was meant to be for this group this season. Their quality and their commitment to the way I asked them to play was amazing and they deserve it.”

The squad showed their mettle by bouncing back from an Easter blip – their only back-to-back league defeats since Murray took charge in November – to win their final four matches, conceding only one goal.

And they needed every one of those wins to hold off runners-up King's Lynn Town, who finished with seven straight victories.

Murray reflected: “We could have made it more comfortable for ourselves but Easter was probably a blessing in disguise.

“Without the injury to Birdy (Pierce Bird), I think our Easter would have been more productive. We were winning at Spennymoor when we lost Birdy on Good Friday and we had to finish the game with 10 men.

“I think the mood and emotion of losing Birdy to what looked a serious injury carried over into the Monday game with Kidderminster.”

Fylde eased their nerves with very early goals in the wins over Leamington and Curzon Ashton which preceded their final test at Bradford, where they stayed calm and patient before a 36th-minute breakthrough.

The league's 26-goal top scorer Nick Haughton provided it with his sixth in three games, and Murray added: “We knew they would be aware of our quick starts. They were very cautious in their approach and well organised.

“We had a lot of ball in the first 20-30 minutes and had to make sure we made no unnecessary mistakes which would give them a lifeline. But after the first goal we got on top.”

To add to the tension, King's Lynn scored before Fylde on their way to victory over Curzon (also 2-0) on Saturday but Murray said he was not monitoring their title rivals' progress.

He told the club website: “We didn't know and we've made it a point over the past few months that we weren't bothered what King's Lynn did.

“The focus has always been on us and we've made a really strong point of that. We've never been able to control what other people do.

“The only thing we said on Saturday was that if we got into a position in the last 15 minutes where we needed to swing it, then we'd need to know their score but the boys made sure it went our way.

“We've worked so hard and put so much effort in. The boys have been amazing and they deserve all the credit. I'm so proud of the professionalism and the performance today.

“Over the time I've been here, I knew it was a good team with great quality – I just didn't realise what a great group of people it was.”