Alex Meechan: I’ll learn from Boro axe
Former Stafford Rangers manager Alex Meechan insists his experience with the club will help him grow as a man and as a manager after he was released from his contract.
The 40-year-old was appointed as joint manager in March 2019 alongside Andy Fearn.
The pair had a tough time at the helm, as Boro sat bottom of the Northern Premier League before the FA ruled that the season was null and void due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Fearn has now left his managerial role and has been appointed as director of football, while Meechan has left the club all together, and although he is disappointed, he insists on taking the positives from the situation.
“I’m gutted, I put my heart and soul into it,” Meechan said.
“The standard was set in the first four months to survive in the first instance and it’s been a hard act to follow with the injury crisis.
“It’s going to make me twice the person and twice the manager, or whatever is next for me. It was a great experience and an experience that will help me in the future, that’s a fact.
“I wouldn’t say I have many regrets, but we didn’t win enough football matches.
“I’ve been inundated with text messages from fans, all the players and coaches.
“They appreciate that I gave my heart and soul.”
Meechan picked up coaching experience with Telford United, Barrow and Bradford Park Avenue before joining Rangers and believes that his future is still with the game going forward.
“I’ll take a step down and this lockdown will give me time to ponder and think,” he added.
“Football has been my life since I was 16 years old, it’s not the first time I’ve been left devastated or gutted.
“Football is all about resilience and bouncing back,
that’s what I instilled in the players.
“I still believed with 10 games to go we’d have stayed up – technically we didn’t go down anyway.
“I loved every minute of it, there were times when the results weren’t what they should have been but we never had the quality of players week in, week out at my disposal.
“It’s been another experience on my CV, the fans and club are brilliant.
“I’ll never be bitter and I’ll always hold the club in high regard.
“I’m 40 years old so there might be a stage in the future where I come back a bit older and wiser and take the reins again, you never know where paths cross again.”
Meanwhile, the club has confirmed that it has raised more than £17,000 from donations and share sales through their recently-launched Stand Together campaign – aimed at keeping the club afloat during the coronavirus crisis.
The club set an initial target of £50,000, with £25,000 to come from government grants.
“The response has been just fantastic, and we are humbled and grateful for people’s generosity at a time of such uncertainty, hardship and concern,” vice-chair Carol Bailey said.
“We really do have some of the best fans in the country, loyal and so supportive.”
