More turmoil for Tigers

It is now four defeats on the trot without scoring for the Tigers after Saturday’s 4-0 FA Vase exit at Newton Aycliffe was followed by a midweek 2-0 loss at Albion Sports.

Off the field, club chairman and trust chairman Kev Keep, Anne Keep, and Stan Emmerson have all resigned from the trust board while commercial manager Rachel Wood has also left the NCEL club.

Manager Mark Shaw said: “It really is not my place to talk about what goes on behind the scenes at the football club.

“Probably someone in a higher position who runs the football club should probably make a statement regarding all the resignations.

“Obviously from my point of view it is very off-putting and very disturbing.

“They have had a lot of off-the-field problems that have disturbed the playing staff this season and, with everything that is going on and the defeats we have been suffering, it’s making things very disjointed for myself.

“When you don’t know what is going on and what the full picture is at times it’s very difficult.

“I am sure the football club will be wanting to make some sort of statement soon, but from my point of view, I don’t think my opinion on it is that relevant to how the club has got to be run. It’s nothing to do with me.”

Shaw added: “I have never gone through four defeats in a row in my career and it’s a very tough situation to be in.

“But I am not a quitter. I have never quit anything in my life and I will continue to fight on until the club don’t want me to be there. That will be down to the club, it won’t be down to me.

“That’s how I see it. I am willing and wanting to turn things around, and I am sure I will. But there are a lot of issues at the moment, whether on or off the pitch, that need to get sorted.”

On the midweek loss at Albion, Shaw said: “It was a game of two halves, with the wind playing a major part in it. To be fair we probably should have got something out of the game.

“We had plenty of clear cut chances second half. So, from my point of view, it was extremely disappointing and deflating to come off with a 2-0 defeat. It could have been so different in the end.

“It is a very open league this season and teams are beating each other. We have just had a very poor rub of the green. We have been very unlucky, losing games in the last minute.

“We just haven’t kickstarted our season. We’ve beaten Pickering, we’ve beaten Liversedge, we’ve drawn with and should have beaten Cleethorpes, we’ve beaten Handsworth Parramore. We are just the most inconsistent team in the league.”

This Saturday they travel to neighbours Maltby Main and Shaw added: “Every game is a chance to get back on track.

“I don’t think the players are under pressure as we are not a team that’s having to go and chase the title.

“We are a team that needs to find a bit of form and Maltby is a derby. It is a very difficult place to go and play.

“We will need to stand up and be counted and put a performance in that is going to get us a result.

“At the end of the day the result is the most important thing.”