Stockport County may have bittersweet Dave Challinor issue on the horizon: View | OneFootball

Challinor's strong track record at Stockport County won't have escaped the attention of Championship clubs

Stockport County could scarcely have wished for a better start to their return to League One, and the role of manager Dave Challinor cannot be ignored.

Although the investment of owner Mark Stott and the expert recruitment of director of football Simon Wilson, particularly this summer, undoubtedly played a huge part, it has been down to Challinor to pull all those resources together and drag the club into the third tier.

His management career began much further down the pyramid, with seventh-tier side Colwyn Bay, and he has built year after year to get where he is now.

That progress shows no signs of slowing, and teams in the division above will undoubtedly have noticed this too. Hatters fans could spend this season looking over their shoulders when sacking season starts.

Challinor should be on Championship shortlists if form continues

Against heavyweights like Birmingham City and Huddersfield Town, it is two promoted sides, County and Wrexham, who sit at the top of the League One table.

Challinor, in part, has the summer’s business to thank, with the likes of Ollie Norwood, Louie Barry and Lewis Bate bolstering an already strong squad.

Starts will not be as promising across the board, especially not in the ultra-competitive Championship.

As Christmas draws near and club owners weigh up the longevity of their incumbent at the season’s midpoint, it’s not uncommon for troubled teams to twist and opt for a new face in the dugout.

If County’s immense start continues for any length of time in 2024, based on how he has adapted to a new league time and time again, it would be slightly baffling if he wasn’t included in shortlists for vacancies in the second tier, as was rumoured with the likes of Birmingham earlier this year and also seen with Charlton interviewing him last year while County were in League Two.

To get to that point, Hatters fans will have seen some incredible results this season, but it may be bittersweet if the cost is Challinor’s poaching.

Challinor may be wise to stay put at Edgeley Park

Taking such a job on would not be without risk for the 48-year-old boss. He would likely be moving to a troubled team on the slide in the early part of the campaign, and up against sides building towards Premier League football.

But Challinor has not been averse to risk in the past. To take his role with County, he dropped out of the Football League with Hartlepool United to join the National League Hatters, an inspired choice as the two clubs swapped places not long after.

Key to his decision will be the facilities and structure, both at County and any potential new club.

On County’s behalf, at this level, with top-range training facilities, a passionate and wealthy local owner and backroom staff like Wilson who has demonstrated his incredible ability in the market this summer, clubs don’t come much better set up.

That may not be true of clubs going through a rough time in the league and requiring a new manager, and there’s no doubt County have the resources to climb into the Championship at some point in the near future.

Stockport fans wouldn’t begrudge him a top move

Should this hypothetical be realised later this year, you’d find very few County fans that would begrudge Challinor a move to a big Championship club with eyes potentially on the Premier League one day; the sort of offer that may never come around again.

After building on the foundations already laid by the likes of former boss Jim Gannon and the early work of the Stott era, Challinor has taken the club to a new level. He would be leaving the Hatters in a much better place than he found them.

But he would likely enter an intense Championship cauldron, with the fans not already onside as they are at Edgeley Park, and he would need to prove himself all over again.

With the resources and scope for growth at County, he has the opportunity to build an even greater legacy than the one he’s already put together.