Players must take some of the blame
17/12/04 | by Daniel Hawkins

Now we are rid of Kinnear, which in my thoughts is a good thing, we are left with another problem – the players. Their conduct over this whole sorry situation has been completely unprofessional and damn right selfish. This is not in anyway support for Joe Kinnear and his poor performances, but the players have to accept that they have all let the fans down as well. They may well have disliked the manager and the situation surrounding the club, but in producing a string of poor performances and lacklustre efforts, this is unacceptable and should not be tolerated by the club or fans. 

Some players may well think they should be exempt from blame. If they think this, they should think again. It’s a team effort and they should take collective responsibility. The majority of the players currently in the first team do not deserve to play for this club. It is the responsibility of the players who are putting in the effort to kick their fellow under-performing colleagues into shape. 

I don’t care if Andy Reid or David Johnson want to leave. I don’t care if some others get a strop. I, as a fan, want to see 100% effort from every player for every match. This has clearly not happened and now its time for them to start making an effort. Tantrums over, Kinnear has gone, start playing football. 

If this fails to happen, I would like to see every player who has failed to make an effort kicked out or transferred out of this club in the summer. The players are in a very lucky position, they are paid good wages to play for a team that a lot of us would give our right arms to play for. This position has been abused by them and they should start repaying the fans back. 

Whilst Kinnear did some good things at the club it seems from certain reports he may have gone about situations the wrong way. Well if this is the case so be it. He has gone now, Harford is now in charge and it's time for the players to show the fans they care. They earn a great deal of money for showing off their undoubted talent – it's now time for them to start earning their money.

We have a team capable of reaching the play-offs with ease. The squad is complemented with a large number of talented young and experienced players, much better than many other squads in the league. They know they can produce – Ipswich, West Ham and Reading being some examples – now it's time for them to produce week in, week out. 

Mick Harford has the chance to pull the team together and get them moving in one direction. I hope he can achieve this and produce better results. Whilst the fans will support him 100%, it's time for the players to support him 100% too. If not, then I would like to see a summer sale and a new squad of players who want to play for the club next season.