Notts County manager Martin Paterson praised “dangerous” Salford City ahead of Monday’s League Two final.
The 39-year-old Magpies head coach said he is conscious of the threats the Ammies have and “how well they have done this year” to finish fourth in League Two and reach the Wembley final.
Salford finished one place above Notts County during the regular season, and both sides could have earned automatic promotion on the final day but dropped points against Crawley and Bristol Rovers.
Paterson was full of respect for Salford boss Karl Robinson ahead of the play-off final. “They are a really good team coached by somebody who’s been around a long time in these divisions, if not higher, so my focus is on Salford as a footballing team and how well they have done this year,” he told a press conference.
Salford won four promotions in five seasons after being taken over by the Class of 92 quintet of Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs and Gary and Phil Neville in 2014, but have remained in the fourth tier ever since.
Fellow Manchester United legend David Beckham became a shareholder in the club in 2019, taking a 10% stake. He and Gary Neville bought out the rest of the Class of 92 when they completed a takeover in 2025.
Patterson was the Assistant Manager to Phil Neville at Inter Miami, an American top-flight club that Beckham also owns.
Speaking on his relationship with Beckham, he said: “He’s a knight of the realm, yes, I did (have a relationship with him), I worked for him, but it wasn’t a personal relationship, it was a professional one. I coached his son as well, but I’ll be honest with you, it would be remiss of me to start talking about anything other than Salford.”
Salford City made it to the play-off final following a thrilling encounter with Grimsby Town. Squeezing by in extra time thanks to a goal from Kallum Cesay.
Asked whether or not he would have rather played Grimsby, Patterson answered: “I think all four teams that were in this playoff were excellent. Grimsby and Chesterfield were excellent teams. Salford are a good team, and so are we.”
“I think it would be very arrogant of me to start talking about things like that and be disrespectful. Salford are a good team, we have to be on it, but so do they.”
Notts County vs Salford City kicks off at Wembley at 3 PM on Monday, 25 May.
