Saints boss uncertain over future (From St Albans & Harpenden Review)

St Albans City boss Steve Castle refuses to confirm future at Clarence Park

12:20pm Wednesday 28th April 2010 in Sport By Simon Mail

Steve Castle has refused to commit his future to St Albans City before holding talks with chairman John Gibson over the direction of the club.

The Saints have been dogged by financial problems and budgetary cuts this season and the popular manager has not ruled out leaving Clarence Park.

Castle, who steered City to a mid-table finish despite mounting problems which included a transfer embargo for an unpaid tax bill, has been tracked by several clubs and the Saints face a battle to hold on to him.

Supporters fear their manager could end his second spell at the club and his departure could result in Castle taking the Saints’ best players with him.

Castle said: “No I can’t [give total commitment to staying]. I cannot give any assurances until I think it’s right that we get some sort of budget and we know we’re going to go forward as a football club.

“I’m not making any decisions before I’ve met with the chairman and the directors. They want answers and I want answers. All the players and the supporters want to know what’s going on with the football club and I would like to think that we will know sooner rather than later.

“I’d like to sit down with the chairman, Nick Archer [shareholder] and some of the directors and let’s just see where we’re going to go with things. It’s just gone on from week to week and drifted.

“It hasn’t been good for the players. They’ve had an air of uncertainty over them and performed miraculously. It’s been very hard to give anybody assurances. Not one of them has been on contract.”

Gibson expects to hold a meeting with Castle in the next week and remains confident about keeping him at the club.

Gibson said: “We have had preliminary discussions regarding the budget and we will have a comprehensive meeting over the next week. He is very important to the club going forward. “My faith in Steve has never changed. I was a Steve Castle fan from the start and I still am. He is an excellent coach. I may get some things wrong but thankfully I didn’t get him wrong.

“He has effectively won everybody over and I remember I was abused from pillar to post when he was first here. I’m very pleased he has managed to turn the significant number of doubters around.”

Castle steered the Saints to 13th in the Blue Square South after his team finished the season with a 0-0 draw at Bath City. But he has warned the club needs investment to remain competitive in the division and fears another year of cuts will leave them facing relegation.

He said: “If we can’t afford to be in Conference South level then it’s going to be a case of we’re going to get relegated. It’s been a year and a half now and we’ve punched above our weight.

“If it carries on we’re going to struggle because I think there are only so many Godfrey Pokus, Pete Smiths, Ross Dedmans and Rob Magwoods. The college lads have come through but they will not be good enough for Conference South football, that’s the bottom line.

“You can blood one or two and they’ve done absolutely superb but it’s a world away.

“There is no blame attached but it’s just very frustrating. The only thing I’ve asked is that we can compete over the season.

“Without blowing my own trumpet too much, I try to put all the praise onto the players, but for us to have kept in playoff contention until mid-March was a miracle if I’m honest.”