Morpeth Town boss Lynch wants Senior Cup win to end historic season

Morpeth Town manager Craig Lynch is determined to bring a fitting end to a historic season by lifting the Northumberland Senior Cup at St James Park on Wednesday night.

The Highwaymen have enjoyed a remarkable campaign after their eighth placed finish in the Northern Premier League Premier Division table marked a new highest ever finish in the non-league pyramid for the Craik Park club. After seeing off Newcastle Benfield, Newcastle University and Ashington, Lynch’s men will now hope to round off the season with a Senior Cup final win against NPL East club Heaton Stannington to win the competition for the fourth time in their 116-year history.

No matter what happens at Gallowgate on Wednesday, Lynch and his backroom staff can reflect on a season of impressive progression and one that the Highwaymen boss believes has surpassed his own expectations.

He told The Gazette: “I think people thought we had recruited well but that was the least that we wanted from this season because it was about making the club sustainable and trying to cut the budget. I love being at Morpeth but I want to make sure the club is around for a lot longer than I will be around for.

“I think everyone knows the way we have brought players in and they have just stayed until they wanted to leave really. That had to change and we had a number of cult heroes that had to move on. We needed seven new players, we got them, we have broken the club’s points record at this level and their highest ever finish so it’s gone a lot better than I envisioned.”

“It’s just about getting the deals sorted now”

Lynch is keen to kickstart his summer recruitment plans in a bid to build on an impressive campaign - but admitted his side’s progression into the Senior Cup final has put a delay on the talks he is planning with existing members of his squad.

“We have the Senior Cup final and that’s great - but it’s prolonged the season and that means we haven’t been able to get some players tied up just yet,” explained the former Blyth Spartans and Sunderland forward.

“We have allowed them to have time away, we were in on Thursday night and we will have conversations before the final. We have 13 lads that I hope we can agree personal terms and then add three or four new faces. They know I want to keep them, it’s just about getting the deals sorted now.”

“We will give ourselves a great chance of winning”

Lynch is only too aware of the importance placed upon the Senior Cup final and is keen to experience further success in the competition by securing what would be the fourth St James Park win of his playing and managerial career. He was part of the Blyth Spartans squad that beat Morpeth in the 2015 final and was Nicky Gray’s assistant manager when the Highwaymen lifted the cup with a win against North Shields four years later. After being named as Morpeth boss, Lynch guided the club to a Senior Cup final win against Spartans in April 2023 - and he is now determined to add another St James Park victory to his impressive record in the competition on Wednesday night.

He said: “We have lost two games in 16 because we have done things properly and we will do things properly again on Wednesday. If the players turn up and do things in the right way, we will give ourselves a great chance of winning. I’ve won the Senior Cup as a player, an assistant manager and a manager and it’s a competition I love. It left a sour taste in my mouth when we got knocked out in the first round by Blyth Town last season - but we have made up for it this year.

“I only set two targets, to reach 50 points in the season and to reach the Senior Cup final. If you win it’s an extra but to get to St James Park, to get to the final, if you don’t think that’s a big thing, you shouldn’t be in the competition. It’s massive to me and hopefully this will be my fourth time winning the competition because that would be something I would love to do.”

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