Former Sunderland forward Craig Lynch opens up on life as manager of Morpeth Town

The 29-year-old took charge of the Highwaymen on a caretaker basis following the departure of former manager Stephen Turnbull in mid-September.

The impact made by Lynch saw him lose just two of his opening 10 fixtures in all competitions - with both defeats coming against full-time sides South Shields and York City.

He rewarded with the permanent role as Morpeth manager and the FA Cup exit at the hands of York still remains their last defeat in any competition.

Since the 3-1 home reverse against the National League North side, Lynch’s men have claimed league wins against Nantwich Town and Grantham Town, as well as a home draw against leaders Matlock Town.

A 4-0 home win against Whitley Bay saw the Highwaymen progress into the quarter-final in the Northumberland Senior Cup last week.

And the FA Trophy has become another source of positivity with a 4-2 win at Pickering Town followed by penalty shoot-out wins at Bromsgrove Sporting and Warrington Town.

The latter of those two wins took the club into the FA Trophy third round for the second consecutive season and left Lynch positive as he assessed his side’s chances of enjoying a successful season.

He told The Echo: “Even before the penalties at Warrington, I was positive and thought this would have been a great point if it was a league game.

“I couldn’t ask for any more from the lads so far, they have all been excellent and they are doing what we have asked of them.

“We have plenty to look forward to and every game is a big game for us.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better start, it’s only two full-time sides that have beat us so far in South Shields and York and that says something.

“We have some big home games coming up before Christmas so it will be interesting to see where we are at when we get to January.

“It’s been a great start and I could not be happier with how things have gone since I took charge.”

Next up for Morpeth is Tuesday night’s home game against Basford United.