‘We’re in a world of pain’ says Deans boss
Furious Michael Birmingham issued his Horndean squad a simple ultimatum following their Wessex League Premier Division humbling at Shaftesbury: buy into what I want to do or join another club.
The Deans boss was seething after watching his side suffer a 5-2 thumping in north Dorset.
It was the second successive Wessex Premier fixture in which Horndean have conceded five goals - following a 5-1 home defeat to Fareham Town - as they were knocked off top spot by Brockenhurst.
Birmingham believes his side’s flying start to the season, which had seen them lose just two of their opening 19 league matches, was just placing 'wallpaper over the cracks' within the club.
And he demanded his underperforming squad start acting more 'professionally' or the Deans boss could even walk away himself.
Birmingham, below, raged: ‘I’ve watched these videos back (of matches) and we’re in a world of pain, that’s what we are, we’re in a world of pain at the moment.
‘I’ve got players who actually think they’re better than what they are. They must be going home and whoever it is, they must be patting them on the back and saying, ‘don’t you worry about that, you were good today,’ what is that about?
‘I gave them the ultimatum yesterday, if they want to play Sunday football and get injured, if you want to go out on Friday night and not want to play Saturday, if you want to turn up and think you’re having a Jolly Boy Outing - go and find another club.
‘It’s either they go or I go - that’s the ultimatum. They buy into what I want to do and be a little bit more professional. Stop playing Sundays, (and) if people want to go out on a Friday night and turn up absolutely steaming and put in a woeful performance, go and join another club.
‘If you don’t want to turn up and put in the hard work and effort which the club is giving you then go, leave, there are plenty of other clubs around the PO postcode to join.
‘We have not played a top side with their top availability and the wallpaper is only covering cracks. No matter how many times you put the wallpaper over these cracks, they’re always going to come through.’
A disastrous day for Horndean - who were minus suspended pair Connor Duffin and Jack Lee - had actually started on a bright note with Harry Jackson firing them in front after 13 minutes at Shaftesbury.
But Asa Phillips, Ash Pope and Luke Delaney put the hosts in command at half-time.
Delaney added a fourth five minutes after the restart prior to ex-Dean Greg Peel making it 5-1 eight minutes from time.
Substitute Luke Kimber did pull one back for Horndean, whose next game is a shorter Wessex Premier trip to face Moneyfields tomorrow.