Paddy McLaughlin confident Neal Ardley can inspire York City in FA Cup and National League

As cliche as it sounds, a good cup run can do wonders for a team’s league form. Right now York City need it and their veteran midfielder Paddy McLaughlin can prove the theory.
Nick Westby
By Nick Westby
Published 2nd Nov 2023, 17:33 BST
Updated 2nd Nov 2023, 17:42 BST

The Minstermen find themselves third-from-bottom of the National League and in danger of dropping back down to the sixth tier.

They have already had a managerial change, Neal Ardley replacing Michael Morton and steering them to all of their three wins this season.

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But there have been too many draws and defeats outweighing the positives.

Positive vibes: York City captain Paddy McLaughlin, left, and Matty Brown with the trophy celebrating promotion to the National League in 2022, something they can call on in the FA Cup and the league this season (Picture: Tony Johnson)Positive vibes: York City captain Paddy McLaughlin, left, and Matty Brown with the trophy celebrating promotion to the National League in 2022, something they can call on in the FA Cup and the league this season (Picture: Tony Johnson)
Positive vibes: York City captain Paddy McLaughlin, left, and Matty Brown with the trophy celebrating promotion to the National League in 2022, something they can call on in the FA Cup and the league this season (Picture: Tony Johnson)

Hence the position they find themselves in and the need for their foray into the first round of the FA Cup at National League North promotion-chasers Chester City to be the continuance of a run, not the end of it.

Northern Irishman McLaughlin, now in his second spell with York, knows from experience what the benefits are.

“A good cup run goes hand-in-hand with league form. Some people say cup form is a distraction, but I’ve never really found it that way,” said the 32-year-old midfielder.

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“I remember 2012 when we had two finals in a week (FA Trophy and National League play-off final), it was beyond anybody’s wildest dreams.

Paddy McLaughlin, centre, is in his second spell with York City (Picture: Bruce Rollinson)Paddy McLaughlin, centre, is in his second spell with York City (Picture: Bruce Rollinson)
Paddy McLaughlin, centre, is in his second spell with York City (Picture: Bruce Rollinson)

“I’d also touch on 2022, we had a brilliant run to the semi-finals of the FA Trophy, beating Dagenham in the quarter-finals, and that didn’t affect our form because we won promotion from National League North.

“That run added to the momentum we were building at the back end of that season, I think it played a big part in seeing us over the line.”

And McLaughlin is backing Ardley to combine a good cup run with a surge up the league for the Minstermen.

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“His passion and his enthusiasm to drive standards up and improve things, not just on the pitch but off it as well, has been really nice to see,” said McLaughlin.

"I’m sure that it will come for him the longer he’s here I’m sure he’ll get the team playing exactly how he wants it to play and the results will come with that.

“We should be in a better position in the league than what we are, for the quality that we have available to us.

"That’s something we are looking to rectify.

"We’ve had a handful of good results since the managerial change and some bad results, but I think for us the biggest thing is trying find a level of consistency and trying to churn out results on a regular basis, results that we are capable of with the players at our disposal.”

Related topics:Paddy McLaughlinNational LeagueNational League NorthYorkFA Trophy