Fans’ backing is vital – Gray

MARTIN GRAY

ATHLETIC assistant boss Martin Gray is urging fans to stay onside as the team battles against relegation.

Ahead of a trip to Exeter City this weekend, Athletic are fourth-bottom of the Coca-Cola League One table but with matches in hand on all the sides around them.

And manager Dave Penney’s right-hand man believes the club’s supporters can play a big part this month in helping the side climb out of trouble.

“Fans are fans and everyone has the right to have a whinge or a moan,” Gray said, following a sequence of three successive defeats against sides near the top of the table.

“You can play as well as you want but if you don’t win, they go home with a negative.

“So you have to try to convert the good performances into wins and hopefully the supporters will stay with us.

“I do think the crowd appreciate the performances the players have put it.

“It is quite easy to turn on the team but they have been very, very good in not doing that.

“Frustration can come out and rightly so. But the fans have been fantastic in staying behind the team and we need that to continue.

“We are working hard to achieve what we want to. Hopefully we are over all of our injuries now and performances will start being backed up with results.”

After playing third-bottom Exeter on Saturday, Athletic have a run of five home matches against Leyton Orient, Wycombe, Brighton, Brentford and Gillingham.

That sequence is broken only by a short trip to bottom-of-the-table Stockport, who lost 1-0 at Bristol Rovers last night.

As far as Gray is concerned, now is the time for Athletic to prove they have got what it takes to preserve their League One status.

To aid the effort, he confirmed that phone calls have been made in order to try to bring in extra firepower in front of goal.

“We have been trying to do a bit of business this week,” Gray added. “We are still looking to bring one or two in.

“With what we will have there and the team they are coming in to, the squad is more than good enough to be in the top half of the table.

“But we have got to stop talking about it and start doing it.”




ATHLETIC’S reserves play Rochdale today at Hyde United (2pm kick-off).