MANAGER: Let's police it ourselves

As the FA and EFL send out a reminder about fan behaviour ahead of the final run-in manager Paul Simpson echoed the sentiments, at the same time as praising what has been a fantastic show of support from the Blue Army this term.

“They give us so much, our fans, and credit to the Stockport fans the other night, they helped to make it a really good atmosphere as well,” he said. “I get that everybody is getting nervous and worried that we’re going to miss out on something, but we have three really good games to look forward to.

“This weekend is a great one for us to look forward to and, because of what’s gone on, Saturday is a golden ticket, and if you’ve got one to get into the stadium you’re in a really good position.

“I remember last year, when we were scrapping for our lives at the bottom of the table, we had unbelievable support down there. I think about the scenes at the end of the game, and we need to see that again.

“We had a brilliant atmosphere on Tuesday, and I hope we see that again. I hope there’s a lot of common sense, and we don’t see anything like we saw in the Papa Johns game where it was spoiled by one idiot and some silly things that were going on.

“I really hope both sets of fans behave themselves. The good thing about Tuesday night, and listen, I don’t like Stockport because of my personal feelings about how I was treated there, but I have to give them credit because I thought as a football club – the staff, players, fans – I thought they were magnificent.

“That’s coming from somebody who has negative feelings about the place, but between the two clubs we made Brunton Park that night into a proper League Two meeting. I’m sure if you’re a neutral it will have been a game to be enjoyed.

“I didn’t particularly enjoy the first half, but I did enjoy the second half, and we want that again on Saturday. Let’s put on a performance, everybody, supporters, players, staff, that makes everybody proud of what we can achieve.”

And on the negative actions that can have a negative impact on the club, he added: “We get punished for flares, pyro, incursions, and it’s bad for the fans who do it as well if they get caught.

“When we’re playing at home and we get a good crowd, and extra income comes our way because of that, if people come on the pitch or throw flares we’re basically writing a cheque for the FA or the EFL if something like that happens.

“If you’re going to come and support us, avoid all of that, and let the income come to the club to help us in what we want to do.

“We don’t want any problems on Saturday, that’s for sure, or in any of our games, because I think we’ve got a really good bunch of supporters. They’re an intelligent group, and we’re asking that if they see somebody who is going to do something which is potentially idiotic, let’s police it ourselves.

“Let’s do something about it and stop it from happening. I think we’re sensible enough to do that. If anybody is going to be daft enough to try something I hope the rest of them police it and nip it in the bud.

“We don’t have to make a big drama about it, just help to keep it all under control. We have the same here with players, if you can see they’re going to do something, you have to speak up and ask them if it’s really the right thing for them to do.

“Does you doing it help the football club, or even yourself, and that can often make people stop and think. Let’s have a good day, a good atmosphere, a sensible crowd who make a lot of noise and enjoy themselves, and let’s see a good game of football.

“Being really biased I hope the result then goes in our favour.”

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