Mansfield Town manager John Dempster has been speaking to the press ahead of his team’s FA Cup tie with Shrewsbury Town at the weekend.
The rookie boss has overseen a disappointing League Two campaign so far. Poor home form and a lack of consistency have tested the patience of many supporters and left the Stags in fifteenth place as we approach the halfway point of the season.
They are already nine points off the play-off places, having played two games more, and twelve points off the top three automatic promotion places.
For a side that was expected to challenge for promotion, this is a frustrating return. Many fans are now getting restless and wondering if the season is over already and have not been shy in letting the club know how they feel on social media.
Critics were once again prominent at the weekend and Dempster revealed he would have prefered another league fixture to put right the wrongs in their latest disappointing defeat away at Swindon on Saturday but relished the challenge of travelling to the League One outfit in the cup.
He also took the opportunity to have a dig at his many detractors on social media, admitting he was very much aware of the criticism and outlining the effects it had on his team. Quoted on the club’s official Twitter feed, he said: ‘I’m not on social media, but I’m not deaf, so I do hear things. Social media can ruin people’s lives in the hope of getting some likes. I think people can do something more beneficial with their lives.’
‘Our more senior players can deal with the negativity and criticism. But if there’s anything myself and my staff can do to help, of course, we’ll do that.’
He then suggested that despite results, his team had been competitive in all but two of the games so far. ‘I think there’s only twice this season that we can say we’ve been outplayed – 60 minutes at Forest Green, where we got the point, and at home against Colchester. In every other game we’ve matched teams,’ he said.
Dempster will be hoping those performance turn in to results over the busy Christmas period which sees the Stags face five games in a row against play-off chasing sides from the top nine.
Commenting on the challenges ahead, Dempster was taking it all in his stride. ‘There aren’t any easy months in League Two. At times this season we haven’t turned up, and consistency will be key to us, moving up the table. The Christmas period is a massive one in football,’ he added.
Our View
Dempster looks a dead man walking to us.
He has much work to do if he is to get the fans onside.
Our view is he will be fortunate to be still in a job at Christmas.
Social media can be a cesspit of negativity for all clubs and is probably best ignored.
It is now a fact of life in football, and by commenting on it, Dempster is just adding fuel to already scorching hot fire.
