As an emotionally charged season reaches its climax Notts County boss Luke Williams knows there are no guidelines for grief.
The Magpies lost chief executive Jason Turner suddenly in March, aged just 50, with his funeral held last week.
Williams, who was among those who carried his coffin, has helped lead a club through heartache while trying to win promotion from the National League.
A staggering 107 points still saw them finish second, behind Wrexham, but they then claimed a blockbuster 3-2 win over Boreham Wood in their play-off semi-final on Sunday as Jodi Jones’ strike in the final minute of extra time capped a comeback from 2-0 down.
Now, Saturday’s play-off final against Chesterfield is their chance to end a four-year EFL exile with the memory of Turner a driving force.
“I don’t think there’s a manual,” Williams told the PA news agency.
“You can be involved in 1,000 games of football but this is something that is about life and there’s no rule book for this. I try my best to support people and to try to support Jason’s family as best I can.
“It’s been a huge challenge for me but at the same time I got to work with Jason and got to know him as a man. He’s made a huge impact on my life in a very, very positive way.
“Nothing that I’ve had to do has been a burden to me. It’s actually, in a way, helped me to mourn Jason’s passing.”
Saturday’s final at Wembley will mark the finale of a thrilling campaign, one where Williams and the club have kept going in tragic circumstances.
Yet it leaves the former Swindon boss wary for when the adrenaline wears off and he and the Magpies have time to reflect.
He said: “When you experience very, very strong emotions, very, very high emotions and very low emotions – when they’re all very extreme – I feel like you’re always very vulnerable when you come to an end of a chapter like this.
“I have experienced things similar in the past and I have a brilliant family and that is the key thing.
“After this type of rollercoaster you need to be with people that care about you and people you trust with your life to be able to help you to recover before it all begins again.
“Will I be able to draw on these experiences? I’m sure, yes. l hope nothing like that happens but you know life is so fragile so there is every chance I’ll be involved in something of a similar nature.
“So I think this stressful experience will help me to cope with that in the future.”
While champions Wrexham have been partying in Las Vegas, courtesy of owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, Notts County have one last game.
Reynolds and McElhenney are expected at Wembley to support the Magpies, something which Williams welcomes as he looks to join them in League Two.
“It’s brilliant we’re able to be really fiercely competitive and do everything we possibly can to try to get to the title and then be able to be respectful and supportive at the same time,” added Williams.
“Not that I think anybody wants to take the passion and the competition out of football, we all want rivalry.
“We want passionate performances and brilliant moments to celebrate and the fans to be able to wind each other up. Then, afterwards, it is a nice development to see the class of the two clubs and the respect they have shown towards each other.”
Doncic backs Mbappe to turn fortunes around at Real Madrid
NBA superstar Luka Doncic has backed Kylian Mbappe to "figure it out" after his underwhelming start to life at Real Madrid.
Mbappe has scored eight goals in 16 games for Madrid in all competitions since joining as a free agent following the expiration of his Paris Saint-Germain contract.
He has gone four matches without a goal – a run that includes losses to Barcelona and Milan – and has been left out of France's latest squad.
However, Dallas Mavericks guard Doncic – a Real Madrid supporter due to his previous ties with the sports club – can see Mbappe turning things around.
"Obviously [their season] could be better," Doncic told Managing Madrid after the Mavericks' win over the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday.
"But when you get a guy like Mbappe, it takes some time to get used to it. We'll figure it out."
Mbappe has scored six goals in 11 LaLiga appearances for Madrid but has underperformed his season's expected goals (xG) total by 2.04.
The forward is averaging a goal every 166 minutes in all competitions this term, compared to one every 88 minutes for PSG in his last of seven seasons in Paris.
Madrid thrashed Osasuna 4-0 last time out in the league to return to winning ways but still trail leaders Barcelona by six points.
Asked about his connections with Madrid, former Los Blancos basketball player Doncic said: "I follow Real Madrid every time.
"I grew up there. They taught me everything, so it's a part of my life. You can call it a secondary home.
"I learned a lot of stuff there and, especially, they gave me a way to be here right now [in Dallas]. I always appreciate that 100%."
Madrid return to action after the international break with a trip to Leganes on Sunday.
Real Madrid 0-4 Barcelona: Guijarro brace sets visitors up for Clasico glory
Patri Guijarro's first-half brace set Barcelona on their way to a thumping 4-0 win over rivals Real Madrid in Liga F on Saturday.
Claudia Pina and Alexia Putellas were also on target as Barcelona continued their perfect start to the season, extending their lead at the top of the table.
The visitors dominated from the off, as Guijarro broke the deadlock inside the fourth minute, tapping in from Putellas' flick-on from a corner.
Cata Coll was forced into a big save to deny Alba Redondo an equaliser shortly after, but Madrid's hope was soon dented as Guijarro picked out the bottom corner with a superb long-range strike for her second.
Pina strengthened their lead six minutes before the break, clinically slotting past Misa with her low strike.
Putellas added some more gloss to the scoreline with four minutes remaining of normal time, beating the Madrid keeper with a lovely dink to bring up her 199th goal for the club.
Barcelona have won all 10 of their games, and now sit eight points clear of Madrid, who suffered their first league defeat of the campaign.
Data Debrief: Total dominance
Madrid will have felt fairly confident coming into this game after a strong start to their season, but they once again failed to find a way past their Clasico rival.
Los Blancos have lost every single game they have played against Barcelona in all competitions, with this their 15th such meeting.
Barcelona smothered their attack early on, restricting their hosts to just one shot in the first half, while they had 10.
Indonesia 0-4 Japan: Visitors stay unbeaten with rout
Japan continued their unbeaten start to World Cup qualifying with a 4-0 victory over Indonesia on Friday.
Two goals from the visitors in either half were enough to seal the three points and get them back to winning ways after a stalemate with Australia last time out.
Ragnar Oratmangoen should have put Indonesia ahead, but he hesitated one-on-one with the goalkeeper, and Japan did not look back after that. They got a bit of fortune with their first goal, Justin Hubner deflecting a cross into his own net in the 35th minute.
Takumi Minamino got their second just before the break, finishing off a pacy counter-attack by darting onto the end of Kaoru Mitoma’s cross to sweep it past Maarten Paes.
While there was not much the goalkeeper could do with that one, he was at fault for the third as he gifted the ball to Hidemasa Morita, who coolly picked out the bottom corner just after the break.
Yukinari Sugawara came off the bench to round off the scoring in the 69th minute. He raced down the right wing and instead of looking to his options, he rifled it in from a tight angle at the near post.
Japan are up to 13 points after five games, sitting top of Group C, while Indonesia are bottom, still in search of their first win.
Data Debrief: Clinically done
For a team still chasing their first win, Japan are probably not high on the list of opponents they would want to face, and Indonesia were undone by their visitors.
Hajime Moriyasu's side created 0.79 expected goals (xG) to Indonesia's 0.72, while they only had four more shots than their hosts (12 compared to eight).
Japan took their chances, and though the win margin may look harsh, they were deserving of the three points, having dominated throughout the game.
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