Banbury United boss Langmead demands ‘more from the fans’ to help turn around ‘difficult’ form
Kelvin Langmead insists everyone associated with Banbury United - including the supporters - must stick together if the Puritans are to recover from their torrid form.
Not even a change of competition against a team in the level below could turn the tide, as Banbury drew 0-0 with Exmouth Town in the FA Cup first qualifying round last Saturday (September 5).
That bore draw at the TUGO Community Stadium resulted in a superfluous replay midweek – a 380-mile round trip to Devon, due to be played at 8pm on Wednesday, September 9.
“We’re not in the best of places right now but we’ve got to grind through it as a group,” Langmead told Puritans Live after Saturday’s draw.
“I’m frustrated and I expect the supporters and the players will be too. But when you’re in these situations, and I have been as a player, you just have to keep grinding through.”
The last victory, a 2-1 local derby win over Racing Club Warwick on August 11, feels like a distant echo. Langmead is now urging the fans to stay on side to help his team bounce back.
“We’ve got to be in it together,” Langmead continued. “Demands are going to be higher on me and I will put high demands on the players.
“In turn, and I hope this isn’t taken the wrong way, I’m going to do that with the fans too.
“I understand when we’re not winning games, it can turn fans away. But that’s when I need them. When it’s difficult, come down. It’s important.
“Not coming to watch us makes it harder. They will, they always turn up in good numbers, but I understand some will be frustrated and it’s easier to step away when it’s like that.
“But that’s when we all need each other the most. We’ve got to stick together as a football club and I’m confident it will turn. That’s the nuts and bolts of it.
“I want more from me, I want more from the players and I want more from the fans too.”
After their cup replay, Banbury’s next league match is this Saturday, September 12, at home to Leiston.