‘The vultures are circling’ (02.09.05)

Greene feels heat after successive defeats

BACK-TO-BACK defeats over the Bank Holiday weekend sent Maidenhead United to the bottom of the table.
And, despite being just five games into the new season, some of the club’s less charitable supporters are already calling for manager Dennis Greene’s head.
The York Road supremo is only too aware of the flack being aimed at him from the fans forum and is keen to put things right.
However, he is asking supporters to bear with him while he fine tunes his new-look squad.
He said: “The vultures are already circling.
“People are putting pressure on me and I don’t think that’s fair.
“Yes, we’ve had a terrible start, but each week we’re getting better.
“What I have to do as a manager is to keep the players believing.
“And the last two performances have helped with that.
“We have improved with every game. We’re much more competitive now and we’re not leaking goals for fun anymore.
“Results aren’t far away and it will only take two wins to take us away from the foot of the table. It’s that close at the moment.
“It takes patience and hard work to build a new squad, and you don’t get demoted after five games.”
Chairman Jon Swan agreed, saying: “There’s no panic stations yet. It’s far too early and we’re within one win of the safety margin.”
However, it is clearly not all hearts and roses at the club, as Swan expresed his disappointment with progress to date.
He said: “It’s a very disappointing start considering we had the full summer period to prepare a squad.
“But Dennis is back in the transfer market again and you should see two new faces in the squad for Lewes.
“We have three good games coming up, Lewes, Carshalton and then Yeading.
“So there’s an opportunity to bounce up the table in the next few games.
“Maybe our season will start on the south coast on Sunday.”
Asked if the manager’s job was safe for the foreseeable future, Swan said: “It’s not something that’s even been mentioned at this stage. He’s making the necessary changes, and after that it’s game by game.”
Greene is particularly peeved with his critics’ timing, as he believes United could have picked up six points over the weekend – with a little luck.
He said: “Both games we had a chance of winning. At Hayes there was nothing in it. Neither side played particularly well, but to be 1-0 down and down to 10 men, we showed real courage to get an equaliser. Then they smashed one in from 30 yards in the last minute.
“In the second half of the game on Monday the players worked their socks off, but they didn’t get anything for it.
“We got it back to 2-1 just on half-time and then Hughesy missed a great chance to equalise from five yards out, but he headed it into the ground and it bounced up over the bar.
“Then it would have been 2-2, and we had the chance of a penalty or two in the space of 10 minutes.
“How the ref didn’t give one of them I just don’t know.
“We didn’t have chance after chance, but we did put pressure on them and if we’d taken a couple of our chances it could have been enough.
“It was only 3-1 because of a last-minute penalty that wasn’t.
“We were certainly good enough for a point. We just have to take our chances. It’s as simple as that.”
As for a solution to United’s current predicament, Greene said: “We need a bit more quality in final area.
“We have Hughesy, but he’s our only recognised centre forward.”
Asked if recent signing John Bacon might be the answer, Greene said: “He’s come on as a sub and scored, but to throw the onus on him at the moment would be totally unfair.
“We need another recognised goal scorer, and we’re talking to one at the moment.”

On Sunday, United make the long trip to the south coast to take on Lewes, who have lost their last two games.
However, Greene will not be underestimating his hosts, who he believes could be challenging near the top come the end of the season.