Brian Barry-Murphy hopes he can bring the Club and players closer to the fans…
“We haven’t given the home supporters anything great to get excited about this season and the players are very conscious about that,” said BBM.
“I understand the supporters get frustrated about poor performances, perceived lack of application or excitement, but this group of players are very honest guys and they’ve got a great community about them.
“They understand we haven’t been very good at home and people might think they don’t care at times when the performances aren’t great, but it’s the complete opposite. They just care too much that they become so uptight that they can’t display the creativeness that’s required to produce exciting football. I’m just trying to take away the emphasis on having to win games and trying to help them produce performances that will win games, and I believe I can do that.
“I do believe somewhere along the way that we’ve lost that connection with the supporters. To go back to my first months at the Club when I signed for Keith - when I played at Bury, I got the sense that they were very impatient and they wanted a certain style of football, which was to get it forward very quickly. When I came here, I was blown away by the patience of the supporters and understanding of what we were working towards. There was a belief that the Club stood for something more than just one-dimensional football that was deemed to get results. The way we got results was very important, and the style and the way we played.
“I think, somewhere along the way, we’ve lost that connection with the supporters. They’ve got frustrated with the way results have gone, naturally, and there’s been a downward spiral. In football, or in any sport, I don’t think there’s going to be a continual cycle of success, otherwise we’d end up in the Premier League! And with all due respect, I don’t think we’re a Premier League Club. I think it’s inevitable there was going to be a downward spiral as such, but the Club is still in an amazing place with incredible players coming through. I think it’s important that we all take stock, regroup, try and get everybody together and move forward. There was that unique connection between the supporters and the Board and the players, in that order, and I just think it has been lost along the way.
“I know Keith and Chris were conscious that home atmospheres hadn’t been great, and as players we feel that. It’s a two-way thing, we’ll do everything we can to try to energise the supporters and make them excited, and hopefully they’ll respond to that. I know they will if we do that, so we’re confident we can provide that.”
Watch Brian Barry-Murphy’s full interview for FREE on iFollow.