Anxious times for Barry Town (From Barry And District News)

Anxious times for Barry Town

It came as a massive disappointment, but no big surprise to the 70 or so fans in the Jenner Rooms last Monday night when Barry Town manager David Hughes, finally confirmed he had resigned as manager of the club earlier on in the day.

Loyal to the cause last season, despite being the butt of some harsh comments because of Barry Town's performances on the pitch, Hughes had assembled around him players this season that wanted to play for him, play for the club, and play for the fans.

The results since Hughes stepped up to fill Colin Addison's very large shoes pre-season have been generally excellent.

With applause ringing in his ears as he left, many will view his efforts this season with some pride, and rightly so.

Budget reductions have been imposed on the club, and owner Stuart Lovering was not present at the meeting, although many loyal fans wanted to meet him to work together and get a financial package together that could stave off the threatened cuts.

Unfortunately, the chairman had already accepted his manager's resignation by this point, and, although one local businessman was willing to pay the manager's wages for the rest of the season, Hughes had already made his decision.

Many at the meeting called for Mr Lovering to sell the club to the highest bidder, but everyone is waiting to see if any bidder comes forward.

Unless the chairman already has plans to replace Hughes as manager, doubt must also be cast on whether or not the majority of the playing squad will wish to remain with such a reduced budget.

Unless Barry Town field a team on Saturday away at Skewen, the club will be docked points and fined for non-fulfilment of fixture.

Many Barry Town fans felt priced-out by the controversial price-hike of £7 this season, and this has led to a dramatic fall-off in support.

But with the chairman now reducing entrance to only £4 for adults and £2 for children and students, it is hoped fans will return and repeat the tremendous support the club received last season, despite it being Barry's worst for 32 seasons.

The current team has been highly entertaining, and has contained many skilful players - although it is possible many former regulars at Jenner Park will never see them play.