Palmer rules out Automatic Promotion

Beleagured Stockport boss Carlton Palmer has admitted that automatic promotion to the Premiership is now beyond his side, after their latest defeat at home to Division One leaders Wolves left them 56 points behind the division one leaders with twelve games left to play.

The Hatters are 18 points adrift at the foot of the table, having won just two games all season, but Palmer had refused to rule them out of the promotion hunt until this week.

Palmer

Palmer: Manager

'We still have 36 points to play for' Palmer pointed out, 'and although we would need to win all our remaining games, and hope that our rivals slipped up, and hope that the FA hit every club in the top half of the table with a points deduction where there's a will, there's a smoke without fire. Stranger things have happened and football's a funny old game, as they say.'

Mathematically Stockport still have a very good chance of making the play-offs, provided they take maximum points from their run-in, and Coventry, Norwich, Crystal Palace, Birmingham, Preston and Wimbledon all resign from the league and have their records expunged.

Palmer is also coy about his chances of winning the Nationwide League Division One Manager of the Season award. 'Let's just say it would be very nice if it happened, but I'm counting no chickens yet' he said.

The 36-year-old former England midfielder took the managerial reigns at Edgebaston back in November, after a long and distinguished playing career for Sheffield Wednesday, Leeds, Southampton, Nottingham Forest, Coventry and Leeds.