When Sutton United’s players, the majority of them preparing for the unknown, reported for pre-season training in July they were set a clear target. Manager Matt Gray had looked through past tables and settled on the magic number that would ensure their Football League foray would not be fleeting. The club had been building gradually for 123 years before reaching the big time, there was too much gone into it for them to fall right back down.
Now, just over midway through the campaign, that 50-point total is on the horizon and Gray will soon be sitting his squad down again to review the good and bad of the campaign so far before planting another number in the back of their minds.
Seventy-five should seal a play-off place for a team who sit third in a congested table. But the wider, level-headed approach will not change for a club that should really remain in pinch-me mode. Heads down, get wins on the board and then see where the journey ends up.
