Caretaker Manager Mark Sampson has issued a rallying cry to the players, supporters and members of staff at Stevenage Football Club to unite ahead of two upcoming home games at The Lamex Stadium...
Sampson has taken the reigns of the team since Maamria’s dismissal on Sunday following a winless start to the season. The former Lionesses boss says it has been a difficult time, but one that he hopes can bring the best out of the squad.
“It has been a difficult period and it is never nice when a member of staff, a colleague, loses their job and somebody who was so heavily connected to the football club over many years.
“It is now up for us to try and find a way to move forward now.
“For the players the overriding message is that we are ultimately responsible for the mood in this building and every one of us has to take that collective and individual responsibility to make sure that we are impacting the mood we want in that environment, which is that we want people being positive, we want people to be on the front foot and we want people to people to feel that they can express themselves on the field.
“That level of professionalism has been outstanding and their reaction since Sunday’s news has been a credit to them not just as players but as human beings.
“The staff and the players have come together and really helped creative a positive mood and we are working really hard on the training pitch to get a positive result on Saturday.”
Joining Sampson in the dug-out on Saturday will be Alex Revell, who after retiring as a player during the Summer has taken up the role as Stevenage FC U18s Manager.
“I was delighted when I spoke to Revs about the possibility of him coming to support me, I was absolutely delighted when he was over the moon to accept.
“He is a really great human being, he has such great values and everybody at the football club has got so much respect for him for what he has done as a player and in the short term as coach of the U18s.
“We are both excited now about where we can take this team, what we can do with he players and how we can help them improve their performance on Saturday.”
Finally, Sampson has asked for the Stevenage supporters to turn up in their numbers on Saturday to help the team to their first win of the season.
“The message to the supporters is that these players need you now more than ever. Let’s show how together we are as a football club and I can promise you that they are desperate to be successful. They are desperate for their football club to go on and achieve great things and that starts Saturday.
“I am hoping to see a good turnout, first and foremost, a respectful round of applause for the former manager and the work that has gone on there, and then we really stick together, we work hard to support these players to get a positive result.”
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