Buxton boss seeks inspiration from Harrogate Town's rise to the EFL - and defends claims over 'massive budget'

The Yorkshire side beat Notts County 3-1 at Wembley to complete a fairytale rise from the Northern Counties East League in the mid 1980’s to League Two.

The Sulphurites became founding members of the Northern Premier League in 1987/88 after being invited to join the league.

Hayward hails leader Josh Granite

And Hayward believes it shows Buxton what can be achieved as they target a rise of the football pyramid.

“They have done excellent, you can’t fault them,” he said. “They have taken their time and stuck together as a club.

“They have kept the same manager and kept increasing the players. They stopped up in the National League, had a right go and look where they are now.

“Simon Weaver (Harrogate Town manager) is a good friend of mine and the Harrogate chairman is a friend of our chairman, it is nice to see.”

Hayward also denied claims that Buxton had a ‘massive budget’ in order to spend their way to promotion.

“Everyone is saying we have a massive budget, we haven’t got a massive budget,” he said.

“We have got the same budget as what we have had for the last four or five years, it is not about the budget it is about how you spend it.

“It's not about having the most money, it's about knowing where to get the best players for the right money and that is exactly what I have done.”