Time to regroup and ease the pressure

FRUSTRATION abounds at Boundary Park as Athletic continue to confound expectations.
Simon Corney can't understand the poor fortunes and he has said as much publicly. Nor can his pressurised manager Paul Dickov, who has so far remained stoic in the face of heat from the boardroom and the stands.

How can this squad, with the quality on board, not pick up regular wins?

"On paper, this team is not a bad team," said Corney this week. "If you said to me 'who would you like to replace in the team?' I honestly couldn't tell you. I don't think it's a question of bringing in new players."

The case for that defence is quite easy to make by examining the pedigree of Reece Wabara, Lee Croft, Jose Baxter and Matt Derbyshire.

All have England age group and Premier League experience; all would be coveted by the majority of other managers in npower League One.

But despite their qualities, and those elsewhere in this side — one proclaimed by Dickov as the best he has yet had at his disposal — Athletic have not remotely achieved what they are capable of this season.

And the overwhelming reaction at Chronicle HQ has been that supporters share both Corney's concerns and his right to express them.

The pair are far from being at each other's necks. The chairman believes in Dickov's ability and wants nothing more than for him to succeed.

For his part, the manager respects the chairman's views — even if he would prefer them not to be aired, as was the case last week.

That is the prerogative of Corney, whose barbs were clearly designed to stimulate a positive, "let's show him" reaction.

It didn't work on the pitch in terms of the bare bones of the result against Tranmere, though the overall performance was better than that against Bury which prompted Corney's tirade.

While admitting his club is involved in a relegation scrap, the chairman is unlikely to panic just yet.

The dividing line between relative success and failure for Athletic in an evolving league table remains small.

While the present standing of 19th place is a poor return, had the postponed game against Doncaster gone ahead and been won by Dickov's side, they would now be five places better higher — a little closer to par, if not right on top of it.

Those sorts of what-if scenarios don't cut much ice with supporters, though. Rightly so. The current tally of points and goals is simply not good enough.

Failure, particularly at home, is a massive turn-off and it is ultimately Dickov's responsibility.

Athletic must switch back on to utilise their collective talent, as they did at Crewe and against Preston in an excellent October, and ease the regathering pressure on their manager.