Stokoe: The new Board have been great

MAGPIES boss James Stokoe feels sufficiently backed by the club’s board of directors after they handed him an 18-month contract.

Stokoe and his assistant Mark Gamble recently signed a deal that will tie the pair down to the Southern League Premier South side until the end of the 2022-23 season, despite Wimborne’s precarious league position.

Magpies head into today’s game with Harrow Borough second from bottom, 10 points away from potential safety in the form of 19th place.

With new owners, off the field it appears to be an exciting time at the New Cuthbury, with Stokoe hinting at improvements behind the scenes.

Wimborne’s boss told the Daily Echo: “The new board have been great since they come in.

“They backed us, and with the contracts that they've offered us, it shows they're going to continue to back us.

“There's a lot of things happening at the moment off the field to improve the club, hopefully sooner rather than later, but if not over the summer, that will allow us to improve where we are as a club, and as a playing staff, and improvements to the coaching staff as well.

“Bits and pieces that allows us to have a really good go at it next season, depending on what league we end up in.

“But, we're confident going forward that the infrastructure is going to be in the right place and that's going to allow us to do better on the pitch.”

With the club currently poised to drop down to the Southern League Division One south, some fans’ reaction to the contract extension was hardly positive.

When asked about the online postings from fans, Stokoe understood why fans felt that way.

“Every fan is entitled to their opinion,” continued Stokoe.

“I'm a fan as much as anyone else at the club.

“It’s not nice reading, but at the end of the day they pay to come in, they can have their opinion and what they think is the right way to go.

“The board have backed us, we can only control what's in front of us.

“That’s the games coming up, and training on the pitch to work and get the results that we need to get to try and stay up, and if not, next year to have a good go at going back up.”