Heathcote given board's backing
By Connor Murphy
Comment
ALTY chairman Geoff Goodwin said the board were united behind manager Graham Heathcote despite talks being held over his future.
A special board meeting was held on Tuesday to discuss Heathcote's position after he had come in for some strong criticism from fans in recent weeks.
But Goodwin insisted there had never been any doubt in his mind that he was the right man to save Alty from the drop.
He said: "Nothing changes. Graham is the manager, he's got the backing of the board and only time will tell, but I'm confident we'll survive.
"Even if we did go down, I believe he would be the best man to take us right back up again.
"The most positive thing is that everyone in the boardroom wants the same thing. Graham will look for a number two now and we will announce an appointiment in due course.
"There was never any question in my mind that he should stay as manager.
"Sometimes he just feels as if he is pushing uphill because of the part-time situation but he will do all he can to make sure we stay in the Blue Square Premier."
Goodwin also said that turning the club full-time professional in a bid to help it to compete at Blue Square Premier level was not a realistic possibility.
"We will never go full-time because we would need at least another 1,000 fans through the gates for every game and still then we would be one of the poorest full-time clubs in the league. It's just not feasible for the club.
"If an investor comes in and it's what's best for the club then we will welcome them on board. But if they are only going to come for five minutes and leave this club in a mess then we're obviously not interested."
4:11pm today