Fans vent anger at STFC manager (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Fans vent anger at STFC manager

Fans shout for Town boss Andy King to be sacked after Saturday's match against Bradford City Ref: 99441-237FANS will not take much more that's the message Swindon Town supporters' groups are sending to the club.

It follows the team's fifth defeat in a row this time at home to Bradford City, when they lost 3-2.

After Saturday's match, around 70 fans stayed behind to protest against manager Andy King and the board of directors.

The fans congregated outside the stadium's main entrance and shouted 'King Out' before complaining that tickets to see the matches were a waste of money.

A handful of police and stewards were present at the scene, but there were no problems.

One onlooker, who asked not be named, said: "They were just vocalising their opinions rather than causing any trouble.

"They were there for about an hour and it was all relatively peaceful."

When the Bradford City buses drove past, frustrated supporters called for boss Colin Todd, who introduced King to the town, to take him back to Bradford.

Mr King did not leave the club through the main exit.

Andy Ratcliffe, a spokesman for the Swindon Town Supporters' Trust, said: "During the match there had been chants of 'sack the board'.

"But I think fans have realised that it is not all Andy King's fault as he has not had the resources he needed to manage the team.

"It is not as if he has had millions and wasted them the board has cut his budget every year for the last three years and he had to deal with transfer embargoes and more."

Mr Ratcliffe said he thought it was the third time fans had vocalise their frustrations.

"King has an inimitable style. He's a bit of a maverick and you either love or loathe him.

"Whether you love him or not, he has not been given the resources he needs to run the team."

And Mr Ratcliffe is convinced the root of all the team's problems lie with the board.

"A lot of fans don't like Andy King, but there is an awful lot more who don't like or trust the board.

"They are starting to ask who these people are and where they have come from.

"None of them are from Swindon. They all live in Reading and Newbury and I think that fans are starting to turn on them."

Club chief executive Sandy Gray said they were reviewing the situation.

"Obviously we have been in this situation with Andy King before where the team lost 10 out of 12 matches, but he managed to turn it around and we went into the playoffs.

"We want to reassure fans that we are looking into the problems, but we don't want it to turn into a witch-hunt, or to be rushed into making our decision.

"We just ask that fans give us the support we need while we do our review."

Swindon now has seven points and sits in 23rd place second from the bottom of League One.