Knill: Success is getting more difficult

Scunthorpe manager Alan Knill believes it is getting ever harder for smaller clubs to compete at the top end of the football pyramid.

Knill aims to lead the Iron on a promotion challenge next season following relegation from the Championship in 2011, with attempts during the last campaign hit by a long list of injuries to key players.
"It is still possible for the smaller clubs to succeed," Knill told the club's official website. "But only to a certain degree. Look at Stevenage, who came through the leagues.
"You have to ask, could they sustain the next level up? Can they become a Championship club. I'm not so sure. Everyone points to Blackpool and the fact that they got in the Premier League, which was fantastic - but they couldn't stay there.
"It's almost impossible to keep yourself at that level. But that is what we all have to aspire to, getting to that next rung on the ladder."