The pressures of our newfound success were immense, a constant, grinding, and deeply unsettling force that was threatening to pull us apart.
But amidst the chaos, amidst the anxiety, amidst the swirling vortex of speculation and expectation, something incredible happened. Something that would change the game, and my own, personal, managerial journey, forever.
It happened on a Tuesday night, after a particularly grueling, and ultimately disappointing, 1-1 draw against a team we should have beaten comfortably.
I was sitting in my flat, eating cold beans straight from the tin because I'd forgotten to buy proper food again, my mind a tangled mess of frustration and self-doubt, when the system, my secret, silent, and all-powerful partner, decided to intervene.
