Chairman backs beleaguered boss (07.03.06)

BACK-TO-BACK defeats to Weston-super-Mare and Bognor Regis Town left Maidenhead United seven points adrift at the foot of the table on Tuesday night.
But there was even worse news on Wednesday, as Newport County beat Hayes, meaning the Magpies are now nine points from safety, while Carshalton still have a game in hand.
It all bodes ill for United’s survival prospects, and has sparked a fresh spate of slating on the club’s fans forum.
However, the club itself is taking a pragmatic view on recent developments and has put its full weight behind beleaguered manager Carl Taylor.
Club chairman Una Loughrey said: “We’d just like to put on record our continued support for Carl as manager of Maidenhead United.
“We feel very strongly that he’s the right man for the job.
“He has the motivation, the enthusiasm and the will to get the club performing at the level we would like.
“And the players really respect and like him.
“There’s been a lot of chat and gossip on the fans forum and at the ground, and people are genuinely disappointed with our performances since Christmas.
“But when we took over we knew it was going to be for the long haul.
“Relegation isn’t definite at this point in time.
“It is looking likely, but whatever happens we want Carl to stay.
“We’ve had a lot of instability over the last few years.
“We need to consolidate. We need stability. That’s why we’ve offered people contracts.”
She went on: “We’ve found it difficult over the last three years in this league.
“It’s hard to play in a league where you’re constantly struggling.
“Anyone would rather watch their team win than lose every week.
“It would be great to stay up, but someone has to go down.
“And if we do get relegated, who’s to say we won’t get promoted again.”
Dropping a division would certainly make sense from a financial point of view, as the new ground standards for the Conference could force the club to spend tens of thousands of pounds on improvements.
That kind of investment is likely to take time, but it is long-term planning which Loughrey believes is necessary to turn the club around.
She added: “We never expected to achieve everything in six months.
“It’s not just about what happens on the pitch. There’s a lot more.
“We’re working on football in the community schemes and we’re trying to get local schools involved.
“We’d also like to get the reserves side going again.
“In the long term we’d like to see a good youth team feeding into the reserves, and the reserves feeding into the first team.”