Black receives vote of confidence from chairman

May 27 2009 by Colin Paterson, Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser

JIM BALLANTYNE believes Kenny Black is the right man to lead Airdrie United’s second division championship charge.

But the chairman admits the Diamonds have to win the title in style next season.

Boss Black has come under fire from a section of the Airdrie support immediately after Sunday’s play-off final defeat to Ayr United, but Ballantyne says the 45-year-old still has his full backing.

He told the Advertiser: “We must win the championship next season. It’s first place or failure as far as I am concerned. We have to go into that division, win it outright and win it well.

“I see the effort, passion and heart that Kenny puts into the job. He is very dedicated to what he does.

“He is definitely not a quitter and that is one thing that could never be levelled at him. I like that as a feature in someone.

“By a long, long way, he is the hardest-working manager I’ve ever come across. The hours that he puts in are quite amazing.

“I do feel sorry for him. Given the sort of man he is, he will accept his responsibility for this so we all need to work even harder and bounce back at the first time of asking.

“It hasn’t worked out this season and we will sit down and work out why and Kenny will have his own thoughts on that.”

The Diamonds supremo was in philosophical mood despite his side’s relegation and says he won’t be throwing in the towel in his quest for success at New Broomfield.

He added: “I just don’t give in to anything. Ever. As far as I am concerned, things like this make me even more determined to do well.

“We didn’t do enough to win the game and everyone felt really down afterwards, but that’s football. You get the highs but you also get the lows and you have to take them on the chin.

“There is a lot of thinking and organising to do, but we have to regroup and start again.

“It’s devastating but we just have to learn from this and try and make sure we don’t let this happen again. We need to build a stronger team.”

When asked how much relegation will cost the club, he said: “I haven’t a clue. It all depends on how many people turn up next season.

“To be fair, our crowds never increased greatly going up from the second division to the first division. We know what our core support is and we will work from that.”