Gary Setchell takes King's Lynn Town into the new year admitting he will never forget the club's success during the last 12 months.

The Linnets boss, who also became a father for the second time during 2013, guided his team to the last 16 of the FA Trophy and a stunning Evo-Stik Division One South championship.

And after spending an evening with friends and former players Richard Bunting and Steve Spriggs at the World Darts Championship this week, Lynn's boss admitted talk soon turned to what's been an unforgettable spell at The Walks.

Setchell said: 'I said to the lads, Bunts and Spriggsy, that we'll probably never get another year in football like it.

'The Trophy run, the comeback (to pip Coalville to the championship), and winning the title the way we won it, it was an unbelievable year that we'll remember football wise for as long as we live.

'It was an unbelievable effort by everybody to win the league in front of 2,000 people at The Walks with a late winner. It was a great achievement.'

That memorable success story has continued this term during the second half of a year which has seen back-to-back promoted Lynn more than hold their own in the Evo-Stik Premier Division.

Setchell's side, ninth, can break into the top five with a victory today at home to Barwell if results also go their way elsewhere. And the 38-year-old insists he's delighted with the position Lynn find themselves in ahead of 2014 getting fully underway.

'I'd have snapped your hand off if you'd have offered me to be where we are on January 1,' said Lynn's manager.

'I've been disappointed with one or two performances but I've also been really pleased with one or two others. We've probably won some games we shouldn't have and probably lost some games we should have won. It's been really up and down at times.

'When we've looked like we're going to get ourselves in a bit of a bad position, like Saturday, we've pulled off a great win and I hope we can build on that victory at Marine.'

The weekend's 3-2 triumph was impressive winger Jake Jones' last loan appearance for Lynn before his return to Tamworth. Striker Massiah McDonald featured as a substitute but he begins a seven-match ban, for a misdemeanour while at former club Grantham Town that Setchell is refusing to comment on, and misses this New Year's Day clash.

Lynn's manager said: 'We'll bring a couple of reserve lads in for today and I'll be looking to add one or two as time goes on.

'We are a little thin on the ground with Massiah being suspended and Jake going back to Tamworth and it will hurt us. But we're going to have a good starting XI and we will have good subs to call on so there'll be no excuses.'

The Linnets came from behind to beat Barwell 3-1 in August and pick up their maiden away victory of the campaign. In a game of three penalties, the Leicestershire outfit missed one and scored another in the first 45 minutes before a brace from Dan Jacob – either side of a George Thomson spot-kick – sealed Lynn's win.

While they go into this afternoon's clash on the back of a victory, the Canaries arrive having lost at the weekend as well as having tasted defeat in four of their last five fixtures. But they are just seven points behind the Linnets who are looking to string together a run of form to build on their hopes of finishing in the top 10 at least.

'I would like us to have more consistency' added Setchell.

'We've kept seven clean sheets at home and none away, which is niggling at me a bit because we're defending well. But again against Marine we conceded two goals from set pieces. We know we've got areas we need to improve on.'