Aldo opens his heart to Wirral public . . .

by Steve Hunter

JOHN Aldridge has opened his heart to appeal to the Wirral public to show its support for the peninsula's troubled Nationwide League Division One club.

At his weekly press conference at Prenton Park, on Monday, the Tranmere Rovers manager admitted that the current season has been the hardest of his time in charge at Prenton Park - but that the club's fate was really in the hands of the people of Wirral.

Appealing to stayaway fans to show their support for the new regime lead by chairman Mr Fred Williams, Mr Aldridge said: "In the Second Division on Saturday there were seven clubs with a bigger crowd than us. We are a Third Division set-up doing marvellously in Division One!"

He added: "For us to get where we are this season - 13th in the table - is such an achievement after what has been going on at this club. People don't know what's been going on behind the scenes, and all the hard work by Chairman Fred Williams, me and my staff and the lads, is paying dividends.

"After our first 10 games of the season, I thought we were going to go down, with the way the club was, but we've turned it around and the achievement has been phenomenal really. We need people in Wirral to come and back us - all Wirral has to pull together!

"But for our 5,000 heartened supporters, to whom the lads and I are very grateful, the club doesn't deserve to be where it is with the crowds we get - it's as simple as that. It's heartrendering. . .

"The people don't turn up, we sell players and I can't build a team. If it continues, the club will one day end up back down again. I will do my utmost, as will the staff and Chairman, and we'll need the help of the supporters' association in the coming years - we will all have to raise funds keep this club going.

"The Chairman's done his utmost and made savings of £1 million, but the damage was done three years prior to Fred taking over, and we are all pulling together to get it on line.

"I want to keep this team together and build for next season but to be honest I probably can't keep this team together with the crowds we are getting."

The former Liverpool and Republic of Ireland legend had nothing but praise for Fred Williams - both for saving the club and keeping him positive in his outlook. The future, he said, looked bleak, following former chairman Frank Corfe's sudden departure last September.

"At one point the situation was dire, but Fred Williams turned it around," said Mr Aldridge. "He made me positive with his thinking and gave me a goal to work at. If he hadn't come in, then this club a year down the line would have gone bankrupt. The receivers would have been in, without a shadow of a doubt."

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.