Nine years ago a memorable 24 hours saw him welcome the arrival of his twin boys on a Friday, before grabbing the winner for non-league Chester as they upset then-fourth-tier Southend United to reach round two on the Saturday. He&aposll be aiming to write another chapter when Curzon take on National League title contenders Barnet at the Tameside Stadium this afternoon.
“I always have a special affiliation for the cup because it reminds me of my family and what it is all about and I will use it tomorrow when I speak to the boys before the game,” said Mahon, speaking to the Manchester Evening News. “That will live with me forever and my boys.”
His two lads, nine next week, will be in the crowd as Curzon aim to spring a surprise and reach round two for only the third time in their history. The club are 14th in the National League North but are just four points off the play-off places as they strive for improvement on and off the pitch.
The part-timers are putting more emphasis on work in the community to engage with supporters and potential new fans, as well as building the link between the first team and the club&aposs junior set-up. Senior players are encouraged to attend junior matches and camps and help with club presentations. Curzon want to grow organically and have National League ambitions.
“We have been in the Conference North for a number of years and four or five years ago we were near the bottom every season but we want this team to be a consistent playoff team,” added Mahon. “Getting promoted and into the league above would be fantastic.
“It would get more fans in and improve the team but we want to be pushing for the playoffs every season as our target and see what happens. Everyone sees us as little Curzon but why can&apost Curzon be up there and pushing on? We want to change that perception of Curzon to be one that is trying to grow, improve and do something special.”
Mahon certainly did something special with his FA Cup parent and goalscoring double a decade ago but even that would be surpassed if history repeated itself with one of his players this weekend.
