BURTON Albion supporters were able to pose questions to Chairman Ben Robinson and Manager Martin Paterson at a Fan Forum last night.
It was the first-time supporters were able to meet and exchange views with the new manager who shared his vision for the club.
The forum was hosted by BACT Interim Head of Community John Widdowson who gave a presentation on the latest independent impact report showing how much the club achieves in the community.
The Chairman will be celebrating 50 years since he first became involved with the club next season and says he still comes to work with a smile on his face every morning.
He was asked about the recent postponements due to wet weather and the current situation with the pitch.
He told fans that unprecedented rainfall on the day of each game had caused the matches to be called off and the continuous bad weather had delayed verti-drain work that was needed to stop the pitch becoming waterlogged but that this had now been done.
There was a discussion about the cost-of-living crisis and the Chairman said fans were always welcome to pay for Season Tickets in instalments on request and that the club had consistently kept admission prices as low as possible.
Fans asked what could be done about increasing attendances with BACT and the club working on initiatives to encourage new fans, especially families and the manager saying that his job was to get results that would encourage people to attend.
Fans raised concern about the behaviour of a small group of supporters in the Don Amott Stand with the chairman promising that the club would take a further look at this with stewards and the safety officer.
The manager answered question about performances and results and the balance of squad in terms of permanent signings and loans.
He said that he had short, medium and long-term goals and that he could assure fans that he had a hard working group of players who put in maximum effort every game to get results. Building on that was a work in progress.
He also said that he wanted to ensure there was a continuity in terms of staff and vision so that the club had a solid platform to build on going forward.
He was excited by the challenge of being Burton Albion manager and the club’s long-term prospects.
John Widdowson said: “I want to thank everyone for coming along and sharing their views. The forums are part of our EFL commitments but we as a club believe in fan engagement and would be listening and acting on supporters’ views regardless of that obligation.
“It was great to listen to the Chairman and Manager and hear their honest and insightful views on all things Burton Albion.”