Liam: Critics won’t drive me out of club
LIAM Watson delivered a message of defiance to his critics at the newly re-named Big Help Stadium – you won’t drive me out.
The Sandgrounders chief and chairman Ian Kyle have been targeted by a small section of supporters at Haig Avenue over the last few months, the latest barrage of abuse coming during Saturday’s 3-1 home defeat against Kidderminster Harriers.
Results elsewhere meant that, barring a seven-goal turnround with Blyth combined with Kettering winning at Kidderminster on Saturday. Port will be playing National League North football again next season.
And what’s more, they will have a bigger budget and a bigger and better squad as a result of the landmark agreement between the club and the Big Help Group, according to Watson.
The manager accepted results on the field this season make him a target for criticism. However, he defended his work at the club.
Speaking ahead of the announcement regarding the Big Help Group’s £100,000 investment, Watson said: “We have amazing news coming out of the club, so all of these people singing ‘Get out of the club’ to me, if we’re going off results I really can’t complain. But we’re not just going off results, we’re going off the club – part of this is my club. They seem to forget that. I have been incredibly instrumental in what has come in and they will see.
“I’m telling you now, without myself and Ian Kyle, we wouldn’t have a football club. More so Ian, without a doubt. But I don’t have to stand here and have morons screaming – I don’t mind abuse at getting beat, but not getting personal abuse off buffoons. If they want me to answer them back, I’ll answer them back.
“I’ve managed more games in the Conference North than any other manager. I’ve been more successful than any other manager.
“In the last five years I’ve brought in £300,000 worth of sales and there’s another going imminently. That’s all cash funds into this club and without that £300,000, where would the club be?
“Over the entire time I have been at the club, I’ve brought in £800,000 and with cup runs and sponsors, you are well beyond one million pounds. If anyone else has created that kind of money, fair enough, go for it. But those turning round and telling me to ‘Get out’ of their club, well it’s not their club, it’s the people who own the club, it’s their club.
“Next season we will be playing National League North football again, we will have a much better budget, a much bigger and stronger squad and a lot better team. That’s what they will have and that’s come down to an awful lot of people’s hard work, an awful lot of expenditure on monies that we shouldn’t have had to spend. We don’t have any debts as a football club, which is somewhat amazing and you have people who have worked their socks off to make this football club a better football club for us all to enjoy.
“Without the likes of Dion Charles, Doug Tharme, David Morgan, Devarn Green and Marcus Carver getting sold, we wouldn’t have had a club.
“I know it’s not easy to constantly sell your best players. People talk about football clubs and it’s all about development, but why don’t other clubs sell their players? It’s only us who sell players. So we get these players and play in this ‘style’ that some people don’t like, but it makes players stand out and they move on. I just want to get to a stage where we can get a squad, we can keep the squad and have a really competitive squad.
“This has been the worst season ever in my career, as a player and a manager. This place has become toxic, it’s not enjoyable, seeing adults encourage kids to do things they haven’t the guts to do themselves.
“The volunteers who do what they do at the club, that’s the beauty of Southport, the fanbase. I appreciated the support I got from the Main Stand, it was really good – they’ve been through the good times and bad times.”
Port fell to a seventh defeat in a row after a disappointing 3-1 home defeat to Kidderminster, whp took the lead after just 20 seconds through Ashley Hemmings.
The home team levelled through a penalty after Adam Anson was felled in the box. Charlie Oliver stepped up and comfortably fired home. But this only seemed to spur the visitors on and goals in the 70th and 77th minutes from Amari MorganSmith handed them victory.
Watson made no bones about his disappointment with the squad’s performance on the day and indeed the season, saying too many players had let him down and that many would be moved on over the summer.
“Performance-wise it was woeful, but I don’t know what we expect because we’ve seen these players time and time again,” he said.
“I take responsibility because I signed them but too many of them have let me down throughout the course of the season, not just now. They haven’t been good enough, they haven’t been consistent enough.
“We haven’t helped them as a club, we’ve compromised on quite a bit. We should have had a couple of older players in and around the squad but we didn’t have it.
“There’s only so many times you can shout and scream at them, but ultimately there’s quite a few of them who are not up to it at this level and an awful lot of them will move on in the summer, regardless of whether people rate them or not. I can’t have that. I stand there and get criticised for what they are dishing up. I’ve bitten my tongue all season, played the game of cuddling and cajoling them to get us over the line.
“If I can’t get a tune out of what we’ve got here, I take responsibility. But if I can’t get a tune out of them, no-one is getting a tune out of them. That’s a fact, they simply aren’t good enough. The squad hasn’t been strong enough, it’s not been big enough.
“In terms of strengthening (during the season), unless one of these people who want to stand there abusing want to put their hand in their pocket and pay, then no, there was no opportunity to strengthen. But I don’t think people want to realise that, it’s a lot easier to just criticise.”