Source: Bournemouth_Echo
Mitchell: Cherries fans can take credit for club avoiding Chester fate
EDDIE Mitchell is convinced Cherries could hold their own in the league above and also believes the club's supporters are responsible for keeping it out of the league below.[LNB] Chairman Mitchell completed his takeover with the Murry Group just weeks after Eddie Howe's heroes had secured the club's Football League status at the end of last season.[LNB] Cherries beat the drop at the expense Luton who are bidding to make an instant return and Chester City who have since gone out of business due to financial hardship.[LNB] Under Mitchell's stewardship, Howe has continued to work the oracle by plotting an unlikely promotion assault in the face of ongoing off-field adversity.[LNB] Asked whether he felt Cherries would have suffered a similar fate to Chester had they been relegated, Mitchell replied: We could have, had it not been for the board and our supporters.[LNB] I wasn't the saving grace. I just came in, took an opportunity and have pushed it as hard as possible. Other people have joined in, including our supporters, and have helped turn in round.[LNB] What has happened has taken the club out of the clutches of the bottom half of this division and I don't think we will be back there. If all goes well, we will be mid-table or thereabouts in the league above next season, that's our aim anyway.[LNB] The supporters have got to be thankful to one another, not to the board. They have turned out and watched games, backing their team home and away. It's a case of me being thankful to the next person and the next person being thankful to me.[LNB] Mitchell said he was confident the club could afford the increased expenditure that would follow should Cherries gain promotion this season.[LNB] I have sat down with Eddie (Howe) and we have discussed the budget at great length, said Mitchell. We have got a lot of players under contract for a period of time. Okay, we would need one or two additions and some slight moving around but, nothing that would break the bank or significantly increase the budget from what it is now.[LNB] Eddie is pretty wise and knows the situation. He is confident that, without increasing the budget to any great degree, we could hold our own and I firmly believe him. We've got a stadium fit for that league and the supporter-base. We wouldn't have to break the bank to survive and have got players who are capable of playing in that league.[LNB]
