Source: Bournemouth_Echo
Fletch: We can play a part in off-field stability
Cherries star Steve Fletcher has welcomed the club's new-found off-field stability and also says Eddie Howe's men have a crucial role to play in securing future prosperity.[LNB] His comments come as the winding-up petition brought by HM Revenue & Customs was yesterday dismissed after chairman Eddie Mitchell confirmed a legacy debt of about £400,000 had been paid to the tax man.[LNB] Fletcher, who has worked under a number of regimes during his time in Dorset, revealed he was delighted with the way the new board had gone about their business since taking charge in the summer.[LNB] And he firmly believes Howe's team, who continued their League Two promotion push with a 1-1 draw at Bradford on Saturday, have a key part to play in assisting Mitchell in his pursuit of success.[LNB] It's a chicken-and-egg situation, the inspirational targetman told the Echo. If we do well, we get more supporters and the club gains from revenue and it builds a better club.[LNB] If we don't do well, the support goes down, the gates go down and the club doesn't do as well.[LNB] It's a football club. It's not just dictated to by the players on the pitch it's also the people running it and the supporters coming to support us.[LNB] Small clubs like ourselves and probably 90 per cent of the clubs in the Football League have to be run in the right way.[LNB] Every other month there's some other club that's got a winding-up order or someone's pulling them out of trouble at the last minute.[LNB] It's a sad state of affairs what's happened to some of the clubs in the past 10 years.[LNB] But, thankfully and fingers crossed, things look to be on the up for us.[LNB] Fletcher put Cherries' improving off-field status down to a team effort from everyone connected with the club.[LNB] He said: We've got people at the helm who are businessmen and they are interested in the club. They're also interested in their own interests.[LNB] The club has got to be run correctly and run as a business and I think it's credit to everyone who has been involved that the club is in the situation it's in.[LNB] Long may it continue because it puts everybody's minds at rest, not just the players, but everyone involved with the club and the supporters.[LNB] A lot of credit needs to be taken for everyone who's worked hard off the field, from the chairman down to all the staff at the club and the directors.[LNB] Everybody is doing their bit and, hopefully, we can do our bit on the pitch.[LNB]
