Chapter 246: Distraction
December 27th was always the ugliest day on the football calendar.
If Boxing Day was about pushing through the post-Christmas slump, the day after was just about survival.
The match adrenaline had worn off leaving the squad with heavy legs, sore muscles, and the reminder that another game was right around the corner.
Niels sat in his drafty office at the training ground before the sun even came up. A half-finished coffee sat ignored on his desk.
On his laptop, the last twenty minutes of yesterday's game against Tranmere Rovers played on a loop.
He tapped the left arrow key, rewinding the same sequence for the fourth time.
On paper, everything looked fine. They went to Prenton Park, kept a clean sheet, and walked away with a 1-0 win.
They got the three points he wanted, their spot in the table looked good and their momentum was intact.
But watching the footage this morning, Niels wasn't completely satisfied.
