Ian Holloway brukte torsdag sin twitterkonto for å komme med en statement til fansen.
Grimsbys manager har tidligere vært veldig pro-Fenty og har kalt Grimsby den best drevne klubben han har vært borti. Det virket dog som om styret var ganske så enstemmige i å takke nei til Alex Mays penger den samme dagen eieren John Fenty trakk seg fra sitt politiske verv.
Siden har klubben og Mariners Trust vært meget åpne om at det nå pågår forhandlinger mellom klubben ved formann Philip Day og potensielle investorer Tom Shutes, Jason Stockwood og Andrew Pettit. Klubben har tidligere avvist trioen, men forteller nå at det har pågått produktive og respektfulle samtaler som vil være av en konfidensiell art.
Derfor var det av stor interesse hva Ian skulle komme med.
To the fans of Grimsby Town Football Club.
Let me say, first and foremost, that I’m not going anywhere unless I’m told to. The love that you, the fans, have shown myself and my family since my arrival has exceeded even my highest expectations, on and off the pitch.
However, of late, developments away from the football itself have made it increasingly difficult to work to full potential on a day-to-day basis and, most importantly, place this club on an honest, positive, front footing. This is as frustrating to me as much as any fan.
Those who own this club, and those who makes noises about wanting to own this club, have been playing politics with something that is very precious to this community, and it must stop now.
Mistakes have been made, undoubtedly, and while there is certainly enough mud to sling, I instead want to use this chance to appeal to everybody who holds the current and future fate of Grimsby Town in their hands to stand up tall, communicate candidly with the fans and make amends for the past few months. Earn back their trust and respect. This is your challenge.
We are where we are, but I’m not walking away from the fight. However, at the same time, I have been around long enough to know that you, the fans, need to know where I stand. And I stand with you.
Going forward, I shall use my social media more regularly to communicate.
As manager of this club, I will now focus solely on the football and I ask all fans to rally behind the players, as I know you will.
It has not been the start to the season we had hoped for, but there is a long way to go, and we must all pull together.
I genuinely believe in the potential of this club, but we need to do better, beginning at the top, and that’s the gauntlet I throw down today.
Finally, if speaking this openly brings about my demise then so be it. I’m not here for the money, and I’ve made mistakes in not communicating fully before in my career, and I won’t make that mistake again.
The most important thing to me is that the fans feel that they can trust myself and my team, win or lose, rain or shine.
Up The Mariners.
