Magpies boss Andy Preece has thanked club's fans for sticking with his men
Chorley boss Andy Preece has thanked the supporters for sticking with his men through arguably the club’s toughest period in years.
The Magpies endured a wretched spell of results through October and November when they failed to win in 10 games in all competitions.
They picked up just three points from a possible 24 during that spell, and exited both the FA Cup and FA Trophy.
In terms of their fortunes in the National League North over the past decade, since they won the Northern Premier League in 2014, fans will have found it difficult to recall a spell as bad as the one they have endured this season.
Certainly, the ill-fated Covid-hit campaign of 2019-20 when the Magpies finished bottom of the National League was difficult, but the fact that they were playing at a higher level following promotion the year before was a mitigating factor.
But as far as the NL North is concerned, the Magpies have very rarely suffered a long spell of poor results.
Thankfully, Preece’s men appear to have turned a corner after picking up three wins and two draws from their past seven games.
Over the Christmas period, they secured home wins over Hereford and Marine, while a vociferous away following almost roared Chorley to a point at derby rivals and title challengers AFC Fylde on Boxing Day.
Unfortunately, they slipped to a narrow 1-0 defeat despite a dominant second half performance at Mill Farm.
Preece – who saw his side’s scheduled home game against Leamington fall foul of the weather at the weekend – insists there is room for improvement but he has seen signs of positivity in recent weeks.
And their recovery has been aided by a strong fanbase who have stayed supportive.
"Quite a good number of our fans have probably not seen the club be in this position before apart from when we got relegated ,” said Preece.
"That’s the only time we had a long run of not winning games, but those supporters who have been there, seen it many times before, understand that sometimes these things can happen.
"We are not immune to it but the fans have got behind us, even when we have lost games, they have stayed behind and clapped us off.”
On another positive note, Chorley have managed to re-sign Taelor O'Kane on loan from Fylde. The striker played five games for the club earlier this season. This weekend, Chorley head to AFC Telford United.