National League winner reveals what the key to success is to winning promotion from the division

One man who knows all about what it's like to win promotion from the National League is Graham Stack, who tasted glory with Barnet in 2015. 

The former Arsenal goalie also spent time with Eastleigh at the end of his career, and believes the key to success in England's fifth tier is the ability to have a manager who can galvanise a squad and adapt to the different situations you find yourself in at the National League level. 

Stack, speaking exclusively to DAZN News via crypto casino seguro, said, "I personally think to get success in the National League, as we did, I think some of the lads you will have in your squad won't be on tens of thousands, they won't be on thousands. Some of these lads will be on hundreds a week.

"Commitment, travelling. It's very, very different. I think you really need for him to get off to a great start, and I think he's got to get massive buy-in from the individuals in the group and almost create this us-against-everyone-else mentality, which is what we did.

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"We didn't have the biggest budget in the league, but we did have an unbelievable team spirit and we had a manager in Martin Allen that just galvanised the group and created this huge mentality of us against the world.

"Certainly managing players and obviously the expectations on the players as well, but remembering these are not Premier League or international standard players, so it’s important to understand the level and being able to adapt in games.

"You're going to have to understand that you'll need to adapt at certain times of the year, certain pitches, against certain opposition. In my opinion, to get success, you need to be able to adapt to stuff like that."

Looking at the class of 2026-27, several contenders will be hoping they've got those exact tools to earn themselves promotion. 

Barrow and Harrogate return to the fold following their relegation from League Two and will be among those who are expected to challenge at the top end of the division, but Stack believes the winners may come from some of the other big names, who just missed out last time out. 

Adding, "I honestly think it's probably one of the hardest leagues to call.

"I know last year, if you look at York, it was a crazy story between them and Rochdale, wasn't it! Went really close, Stuart Maynard ended up getting a ridiculous amount of points.

"I don't see it being like that this year. I see it probably being a lot tighter, and I think it's probably out of a few.

"I think Southend will go close, I understand why Boreham Wood are up there, Luke (Garrard) is a brilliant manager. I've known Luke personally for years, he's got a big affiliation with the club and loves to play football. I think he does it the right way. I just think it's such a tough league to call!

"Carlisle, I think you would expect to go close, if I'm being honest. I'm sure they'll have a pretty decent budget. Obviously, if you look at their history in the Football League and their fan base, I would probably say Carlisle would be the one I would be picking out to go up." 

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