Tom Walters: 'Sheridan offers fans hope amid ownership uncertainty'

Euro 2016 has, to some extent, proved a welcome distraction from the ongoing circus at Notts County. However, with the recent appointment of John Sheridan, I am quietly optimistic for the new season and what it might bring.

Sheridan has undoubted experience at galvanizing teams - whether bringing sides from the brink of relegation, guiding them to promotion or offering them a shot at the play-offs.  

In my opinion, especially after the kick in the teeth of losing Mark Cooper, Sheridan is the perfect tonic to bring the fans on side and give us a real chance of building a winning formula for next season.

His first signing, Adam Collin, is a real coup for the club – Sheridan is already proving he can attract top players to a side in League Two which has an ownership uncertainty hovering over its head and, is coming off the back of a very disappointing campaign.

Other names bandied around such as Jonathan Forte, Alex Rodman and Jordan Bowery are good players to be associated with – so the calibre of player coming into the club should hopefully continue to be of a high standard.

So, taking the new manager and his plans for the club on the field next season into account – I’m very hopeful.

The only cloud hovering over the club at the moment as far as I’m concerned is the situation off the field. Ray Trew has stated that if no deal is struck by the end of June for the sale of the club, then he will continue to take charge and plan ahead for the coming season.

That’s all well and good, but it’s a sticky situation for Ray should he stay. Fans are now aware that he wants out – the club is on the market, and he’s not held back with his thoughts and feelings. A lot of burnt bridges will need to be rebuilt between Ray and the fans if he stays.

Sheridan might be able to unite the players with the fans with talk of a promotion chase, but Ray will undoubtedly have much more work to do in order to win over a significant number of fans next season.

Don’t get me wrong, I do not condone the abuse received by Ray and Aileen Trew last season by a small minority of supporters, but I am concerned about the frosty atmosphere between the fans and the powers that be – should they stay.

For me, Ray will need to prove his loyalty to Notts next season if he doesn’t complete a sale. How he goes about this is his own prerogative.

Financial backing of the manager is a must, as too is an attempt to smooth over the cracks with the fans. He must issue a statement to the fans, with some sort of apology and a rallying cry about us all being ultimately on the same side and in need of pulling in the same direction.

The lack of communication from him in recent weeks and months hasn’t helped his cause – so this might go some way to galvanizing the fans and the club for the new campaign. Nothing is beyond repair, but the way the situation is handled will be the deciding factor for all involved.

Over to you Ray…

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