LEGEND KEV’S DEVOTION TO ‘WORST TEAM’

KEVIN RATCLIFFE pays his £8, collects a cup of coffee and takes his seat in a sparsely populated small stand to watch officially the worst team in the football pyramid.

Everton’s most successful captain and Wales defender (below) is a regular at Airbus UK Broughton, who have finished rock-bottom of the Cymru Premier League on minus four points.

Without a single win all season – the only club in the professional leagues to suffer that fate – they have drawn twice, but have been docked six points for two separate rules transgressions.

Their relegation fate was settled back in February and they are on their third manager of a desperate season.

Last weekend’s 4-1 home defeat against Haverfordwest County brought the curtain down on a winless campaign.

Now, Ratcliffe, 62, is hoping to see his side lift off next season in Wales’ Cymru North along with Ian Rush’s hometown side Flint Town, who have also suffered relegation.

He said: “They have had a taste of life in the Cymru Premier League, so the challenge is to try and come straight back.

“I think it’s the earliest anyone has been relegated – they were down in February.

“There are some good people working behind the scenes who still have a smile on their faces, despite not knowing where the next win is going to come from.”

So what is the connection with the club situated on the Welsh side of the border just outside Chester?

“The ground is about five minutes away from my house and I feel if you can you should always support your local team,” said Ratcliffe.

“I’m also a member of the gym there. It can get a bit cold and desperate when you are watching them lose all the time in the middle of winter.

“The games I’ve watched I’ve always felt they have had a chance until half-time. After that it was just a matter of time before the opposition scored. “OK, the crowds aren’t great, maybe a couple of hundred, but you can get busloads of fans from other clubs turning up, so it’s great to see the support for the game at this level.

“There are local derbies against Flint and Connah’s Quay, which increase the gates. Then you have to admire the Airbus fans who travel around Wales likely to see their team lose.

“Let’s face it, it can’t get any worse.”