Sports Editor Neil Bramwell speaks out

''GIVE a hoo-Ray for boss Harford" - April 18, 1996

"Don't vent your anger on Harford" - August 1, 1996

Those headlines were written on Bramwell Speaks Out when the anti-Harford lobby were starting to make their feelings known.

There was a need to view the broader picture and avoid knee-jerk reactions to a run of poor form.

Through the relative turmoil of the last year, a bedrock of stability needed to be established.

The greatest danger was of setting a hiring and firing precedent.

Those comments were also made in the belief that there would be an imminent upturn in fortunes.

That has not happened and the broader picture has a different focus.

Shearer's departure was a crippling blow and something over which the manager had little control.

The timing of his exit has seriously hampered efforts in the transfer market.

The fact remains, though, that nearly three months on, there is no sign of a replacement.

Injuries have also crippled the squad. But one of Harford's primary aims last season was to strengthen the depth of that squad.

However, in times of greatest need, many of those signings have been found to be below par.

And a number of other clubs have suffered similar problems without a similarly appalling sequence of results.

The key yardstick, though, is the backing of the players.

It is only natural that their individual confidence has taken a hammering.

But there are now worrying signs that the team lacks the old passion and fire - telltale indications of a waning confidence in Harford's management.

These situations are, of course, just as disturbing for the manager himself.

Harford clearly attempted to force the board's hand with carefully chosen comments after the Arsenal game.

The response was hardly a wholehearted endorsement of Harford's tenure. And his own comments lacked the gritty determination of a man convinced that he can turn things around.

There is no escaping the depth of the current crisis.

It will already take a monumental effort to climb to safety.

I now feel that cannot happen without a change in direction.

But while this has to happen as soon as possible, the current dearth of managerial talent has to be taken into account.

A replacement must be lined up before push comes to shove.

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