After a 2-0 away victory against Brighton, New Manchester United overtook Brighton to top League Two with a one-point advantage. This was their first time reaching the top of the league this season, and if they could continue to withstand the pressure and maintain a perfect winning run in the upcoming matches, then this year's League Two title would belong to New Manchester United.
At the same time, in another key match, Blackpool drew 1-1 with Cardiff at home, leaving the points gap between third and fourth unchanged. Now it depended on which team could continue to withstand the pressure.
After returning to Manchester from Brighton, Mourinho once again gave the team a day off.
After reassembling, Mourinho announced the battle plan for the remaining seven league rounds. He demanded that the team not relax their vigilance just because they had overtaken Brighton to go top, as the upcoming opponents would be equally difficult. These included teams like Cheltenham and Rochdale, who were aiming for play-off places, as well as teams like Exeter, who had not yet escaped the threat of relegation.
Such teams often exploded with astonishing energy at critical moments, destroying careless opponents.
Mourinho demanded that his players maintain ninety minutes of concentration in every match and thoroughly execute the team's tactics. Only by winning all seven matches could New Manchester United secure this season's title.
Mourinho told the players that at this very moment, far away in Brighton, their manager must also be telling the Brighton players to give their all in the next seven matches.
"They are waiting for us to make a mistake, lads. This is a war, do you understand? A war!" Mourinho roared. He felt the team was very young, especially after three consecutive years of good performances. At this moment, it was crucial to keep these young players clear-headed. Otherwise, they might fall at the final hurdle!
...
In fact, Mourinho's worries were justified.
In the away match against Plymouth on March 31, New Manchester United seemed somewhat distracted from the start. Especially after a big win against Plymouth in the first meeting, the players felt that winning this match would not be a problem.
But what was the reality?
The half-time score was 2-0, with the home team ahead.
New Manchester United, having conceded two goals, returned to the dressing room and were severely reprimanded by Mourinho. He particularly criticized several starting players, including main striker Kitson, for their lack of fighting spirit on the pitch, calling him soft. He even replaced Kitson with Crouch.
After a harsh scolding at half-time, the team's performance immediately improved at the start of the second half. The returning Juninho showed excellent form, first scoring directly from a free kick in the attacking half, then assisting Curtis with a header from a corner, and later assisting Crouch to score the winning goal.
After a difficult 3-2 victory over Plymouth, everyone at New Manchester United felt relief and lingering fear, because in another match, Brighton easily defeated their opponent 3-0.
Feeling the pressure from Brighton, New Manchester United immediately cast aside their previous confidence in winning the title. Mourinho frequently suppressed the players' complacency, especially Kitson. The main striker's performance after the Brighton match had been somewhat disappointing, particularly on the pitch, where he no longer showed the same diligence and fighting spirit as before.
Seeing Kitson's performance, Mourinho decisively benched him and replaced him with Crouch. While the tall striker certainly had a height advantage, his ability to compete in the final third was far inferior to Kitson's, which made New Manchester United's matches very difficult.
On April 7, New Manchester United played away against Cheltenham. Although New Manchester United firmly controlled the match, their advantage failed to turn into goals. In the end, they could only rely on a long-range shot from Hleb to secure three points at Whaddon Road. At the same time, Brighton also won again.
Before this, New Manchester United had been used to chasing others this season, but now they suddenly became the team being chased, which put immense pressure on the New Manchester United players.
At this time, the psychologists from the laboratory played their due role, helping Mourinho effectively adjust the team's mental state.
Meanwhile, Kitson also sincerely apologized to Mourinho, admitting that his emotional outburst at such a time was indeed irrational, and hoping to receive the manager's forgiveness.
Mourinho forgave Kitson, and on April 10, in the forty-second round of League Two, in the home match against Southend, he reinstated Kitson as a starter. Kitson did not disappoint Mourinho's expectations, performing exceptionally well and scoring a brace to help the team defeat Southend 4-1.
Later, City Ground welcomed Rochdale. This team, which was not in contention for much, consistently played without much ambition, as if they did not care about promotion places at all. In this match, they failed to show enough resilience and were completely defeated by New Manchester United away from home by a score of 3-0.
A week later, in the forty-fourth round of League Two, New Manchester United played away against Mansfield. This team, ranked twelfth in League Two, had already lost their chance of reaching the play-offs, so New Manchester United secured three points without much trouble in this match.
Returning to Manchester, New Manchester United hosted Exeter, who had already escaped the relegation zone and secured survival. Kitson once again performed excellently in this match, with one goal and one assist, helping the team secure three points.
Brighton also seemed to have not given up hope at all. While New Manchester United kept winning, they also chased fiercely and refused to fall behind. They maintained the one-point gap until the final round of the league.
In this round, New Manchester United played at home against their old rivals Kidderminster, while Brighton played away against Scunthorpe. Before the match, all the media unanimously believed that New Manchester United had already secured the league title, because New Manchester United had never been defeated at City Ground.
This time, Kidderminster were no exception.
Kitson displayed excellent form toward the end of the season. He started in all of the last five league matches, scoring six goals and providing three assists, making him the team's best performer. It was his opening goal in this match that sounded the charge for New Manchester United's attack.
4-0, Kidderminster once again fell at City Ground!
Even though Brighton staged a major comeback away from home and also earned three points, New Manchester United still had the last laugh, winning this season's League Two title. Brighton, despite their equally excellent performance, were unwilling but powerless.
As the media commented at the end of the league campaign, Brighton's performance this season was undeniably outstanding. Their only mistake was dropping six points in two crucial matches, which ultimately forced them to settle for second place beneath New Manchester United.
New Manchester United's performance this season became increasingly excellent. After spending a period in the relegation zone early in the season, they showed astonishing form after making adjustments, especially their midfield and forward line, composed of Kitson, Malouda, Hleb, and Juninho, which displayed admirable attacking power.
Most remarkably, New Manchester United's football was full of passion and strength, with frequent and fluid cooperation between players, and their attack was always effective. This allowed Mourinho's team to consistently dominate opponents and secure victories.
Of course, no one would consider New Manchester United's football pure attacking football, because they did not play a very open style. If one were to evaluate New Manchester United's football, perhaps "balanced" would be more appropriate. Balanced in attack and defence, very sharp, efficient, and concise in attack, with no lack of highlights, while very focused and organized in defence.
This was also considered a significant reason why New Manchester United achieved the best record in both goals scored and goals conceded this season.
After the season ended, the FA also selected the various season awards based on the forty-six league rounds. The Manager of the Season was undoubtedly the Portuguese José Mourinho, in his first role as head coach. He won with the highest number of votes and was considered the most outstanding manager in League Two this season.
Kitson, Malouda, Hleb, Juninho, Abidal, and Terry were all selected for the Team of the Season. Curtis was named Young Player of the Season, but due to his limited appearances, he narrowly lost out to Brighton's main center-back in the Team of the Season selection.
The team won the title, and the players also received their well-deserved honours. As the owner, Ethan naturally could not be stingy. He distributed a generous bonus to everyone in the team, thanking them for their efforts in helping the team this season, and hoping that the players would continue to perform efficiently and consistently next season.
After receiving their bonuses and salaries, the players could enjoy more than a month of paid leave, then return to the team on June 25 to begin training for the new season.
While the players began their holiday, the club immediately entered efficient operation. The commercial development department, led by Mark David, began planning and executing New Manchester United's sponsorships and commercial development for the next season, hoping to generate more revenue for the team.
Ethan, meanwhile, discussed with Mourinho and the coaching staff to evaluate New Manchester United's first-team squad for this season, to determine which positions New Manchester United should strengthen with new players next season.
Since Schmeichel had clearly stated his intention to retire, and Gareth Turner had also expressed his unwillingness to transfer to another team, hoping instead to work at the club and undergo coach training, Ethan had already agreed to their requests.
For this reason, Mourinho hoped the team could strengthen at center-back, right-back, and goalkeeper, because this season, whenever Bosingwa rested, Essien had to fill in, which made Mourinho feel the shortage of personnel.
Ethan agreed to Mourinho's request and had already thought of suitable candidates in his mind. He invited Mourinho to scout players together, and Mourinho immediately agreed.
But just as they were preparing to leave Manchester, they received news they were not particularly happy to hear.
(To be continued.)