NOW IS THE TIME FOR IRON TO SHINE

FALLEN giants Scunthorpe United have made no secret of their desperation to escape National League North.

- CHRIS DUNLAVY

Now gaffer Andy Butler hopes shouldering those expectations all season long will help his players thrive under pressure in today’s crunch promotion final with Chester.

A League One club as recently as 2019, the Iron spent 72 consecutive seasons in the EFL before back-to-back relegations dumped them into the depths at Step 2.

A summer of lavish spending under controversial former owner David Hilton immediately saw Scunny installed as odds on favourites for the 2023-24 title, but they finished eight points behind champions Tamworth and lost a penalty shoot-out at home to Boston in the play-off semi-finals.

Manager Jimmy Dean and several players departed. And with Hilton gone, local businesswoman Michelle Harness tasked Butler with making it second time lucky.

Once again, Scunthorpe have fallen short of the ultimate prize, narrowly losing a tight four-way title tussle to Brackley.

This time, however, Chorley were demolished 4-2 in the semi-finals and Butler - who was working on the coaching staff last term - believes this team is mentally tougher.

Pressure

“To be stood on the sidelines knowing there was nothing you can do was an awful feeling last season,” the former Walsall and Doncaster defender, below, told The NLP.

“But the truth is, Boston deserved it. You have to be gracious in defeat and take it on the chin and all you can really do is learn from it. So we've learned from our mistakes and learned where we can get better.