You may have seen the videos of Gary Neville partying wildly in his living room.
The Salford City co-owner perfectly summed up the emotions of any football fan when their team scores a winner at the last minute – not once, not twice, but three times.
In successive away games in April, dramatic late goals saw Salford wins, which would eventually help them clinch their place in the League Two play-offs. Every victory has its own story. It started at AFC Wimbledon, with Salford trailing 2–1 as Callum Hendry missed a 90th-minute penalty to equalize. Undeterred, Hendry scored in the 95th and 96th minutes to kick off wild celebrations.
The next came at Walsall. Salford went 2–1 up in the 88th minute, conceded in the fifth minute of stoppage time and then won it in the seventh. As if that wasn’t enough, an 88th-minute winner came in Carlisle after they were pinned in the 85th.
Has manager Neil Wood, who joined from Manchester United’s U23s in the summer, somehow brought ‘Fergie Time’ from Old Trafford to Moor Lane?
Salford manager Neil Wood appears to have brought Fergie time to the club this season
His side has scored many late goals in his first year in charge after joining from Manchester United’s U23s
Wood joked that several people have asked him if Sir Alex Ferguson gave him his watch when he left United
“The number of people who have asked me if Sir Alex gave me his watch when I left United is unbelievable,” laughs Wood as he says to Mail sports.
“If it was a one-off, you can say it was luck or whatever, but we’ve done it several times. We’ve scored about 19 or 20 goals in the last 15 minutes of games, so it’s not a coincidence.
“I’ve heard a lot of people say it’s lucky to get those wins. It’s not – the guys go to the end, they never give up. Ideally it’s not the way you want to win games, I’d rather win 1-0 and don’t have it that way, but it shows some entertainment.’
But it can’t be good for his blood pressure, can it?
“No it’s not, it’s absolutely blood pressure shocking!” We celebrated a bit late in the games. It’s a lot better if you’re on the right side.’
Salford were almost on the wrong side when defeat to Gillingham on the final day caused a nervous wait for Mansfield’s result. After 10 minutes of stoppage time at Colchester, the Stags missed out on the final play-off spot by one goal. “It may seem like it was lucky to be there, but to me we deserved it,” says Wood.
Luck is a word the 40-year-old heard during his first season in management, whether it be about Salford’s methods of winning or how he was appointed to the role. He worked alongside co-owner and CEO Nicky Butt during his three years as manager of United’s Under 23s and helped raise several youngsters who have made it to the first team or flourished elsewhere.
“I had a lot of experience,” he says. “I had been coaching for 10 years – it wasn’t like I just fell into the job and was going to work it out while I was here. I knew exactly how I wanted it to look and what I was going to do.’
Salford are one-legged in the League Two play-off final after beating Stockport 1-0 this week
However, Wood knows the tie is not over yet, but insists his team deserves to be where they are
The second leg of the game takes place on Saturday with a spot at Wembley on the line
Wood has built a team that is fit and hard to beat, but also one that can play attractive football, drawing on youth and creativity with players like Elliot Watt mixed with veteran pros like striker Matt Smith.
Yet from the outside it seems that many want Salford to fail, with the size of their budget and average number of home visits regularly used as a stick to beat them with.
“I think a lot of that is because people are misinformed,” says Wood. “Everyone knows everything about our owners, so they think they know everything about Salford too, it is. I’ve heard a lot of managers talk about our resources this year — managers who have way more resources than we do, but don’t want to admit it.
‘That’s fine, that’s the Salford they think they know. We know where we finished in the competition, roughly around where our budget is. We will not stop trying to improve and get better.”
It’s no secret that Salford has had a high turnover of staff over the past three years, but Wood was unimpressed by the high expectations of the Class of 92.
“They just let me get on with what I had to do,” he says. “They have supported me and we have daily conversations, as would happen at any other football club.
“Everyone knows the owners, their history and what they’ve been through. It’s easy to talk about it and call them names or whatever.’
Wood is in regular contact with his former United colleagues Michael Carrick and Kieran McKenna, who have had fine seasons at Middlesbrough and Ipswich respectively, while Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was at the Peninsula Stadium for the first leg of Salford’s play-off match against Stockport.
Wood is in regular contact with former United colleagues Michael Carrick and Kieran McKenna
Former United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (left) was at Peninsula Stadium for the first leg
“I found out after the game that he was sitting there watching with Roy Keane,” says Wood. “It’s great that he showed his support when he was here.”
Salford take a 1-0 lead into this lunch’s second leg and while Wood wants to avoid more late drama, he’ll be happy if his team is on the right side.
“Everyone wants to go to Wembley, it would be huge,” he says. “We have a very tough second leg against a good Stockport team. There is a lot of positivity around the club this season.
“To everyone who works here and works hard, hopefully we can celebrate some success.”