HAYES & Yeading boss Phil Babb has backed new chairman Tony O’Driscoll to ride out the storm at Beaconsfield Road.
O’Driscoll, who has previously held the positions of first-team manager and director of football at United, stepped in to fill the void left by Derek Goodall, who left at the end of July.
His first job will be to ensure the club’s new Sharda Glass Community Stadium, in Beaconsfield Road, Yeading, is completed to the required National Ground Grading Category B standard.
Without that, United cannot play at the venue and will have to continue to fulfill their home fixtures at Woking’s Kingfield ground.
O’Driscoll told the Gazette last month that a further £2million would need to be injected into the building project to get the main stand at the Sharda finished.
He had hoped to have the stand completed by Christmas but has since revised that estimate and is working hard to get the job done as quickly as possible.
He has left Phil Babb to focus on matters on the field, and the former Liverpool defender is appreciative of the role his chairman is playing in the background.
“Tony has a lot on his plate obviously and he’s trying to deal with that. He’s trying to help me by not burdening me with those trials and tribulations. He’s allowing me to concentrate on building a successful team,” Babb said.
“He’s the sort of chairman you want – someone who is passionate about the club and wants to get affairs in order as quickly as possible. It doesn’t happen overnight but I’m sure he will get there – he’s a very astute businessman.”
Dwindling crowds at Kingfield are not making life any easier for United, with some supporters boycotting home games because of the continuing problems with the stadium. The H&Y army has been in good voice on away trips but Babb would love fans to really get behind the team at every match.
He added: “We are trying to work to change our fortunes when playing at Woking. We certainly didn’t envisage losing our first two home games. The fans were fantastic at Dover and didn’t stop singing for 90 minutes.
“It does make a difference and they certainly outsang the Dover supporters. They help drive the boys on. A lot of people think at non-league level it doesn’t matter, but it does. You hear every shout.”
