I’m right behind you

WORKING TOGETHER . . . chairman Simon Corney (right) says Paul Dickov is still the man to lead Athletic.

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SIMON Corney has handed manager Paul Dickov his “100-per-cent support”, as Athletic bid to start climbing the table.

The chairman says the current side is possibly the best selection of players in his near-decade at Boundary Park. Corney returned from a two-week trip to the United States in time to witness stylish Athletic see off Crewe in what many regarded as the pivotal fixture of Dickov’s three-season tenure.

Now the task is to continue that form, to entice fans back to home matches — starting with tomorrow's home game against Preston (3pm kick-off).

“Every team goes through bad patches and though ours was quite a long one, it is not in our minds to make a management change,” said Corney. “I genuinely believe Paul has been unlucky. I also believe that it is fair to say both of us have done things wrong. There are very fine lines in football and I feel for Paul.”

Corney, who is on his fifth permanent manager with Dickov, isn’t as trigger-happy as some of his rivals.

“I have been part of that craziness in the past,” he added. “But I spoke to Paul when I was in the States and joked with him that even if I wanted to, I can’t afford to get rid of him! He has my 100-per-cent support at the moment, no question about it.”

Corney said there was a “lot of competition” for the signatures of recent arrivals Jose Baxter, Matt Derbyshire and Reece Wabara - and warned they could easily be enticed away beyond their initial spells with the club.

But Dickov is typically upbeat: “We want Matt and Reece to stay,” he said. “We will get the Preston game out of the way and then hopefully we can get something done, because they have both been excellent both on and off the pitch. Jose, Reece and Matt all love being here and the boys love having them here.”






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