Prescot Cables issue open letter to fans, explaining ‘turmoil’ and quickly appoint new manager

Prescot Cables issue an open letter to fans, explaining the ‘turmoil’ suffered this week and quickly appoint a new manager.

There had been initial concern for newly promoted side as the managerial team and several players leave of the back of it all.

The 7th tier club just a few months ago won the 2023–24 Northern Premier League Division One West playoffs, but just month on, manager Ste Daley and assistant Peter Cumiskey have parted ways with the club.

It was announced at 9:55pm on Monday (16 July), with news then coming that their pre-season friendly against Marine for less than 24 hours later was being cancelled.

Then just before 8:30pm on Tuesday the club issued an open letter, as can be seen below, with Burscough then announcing at around 2:30am on Wednesday morning that manager Dave Dempsey and his Assistant Chris Stammers have left for Prescot.

Concern for newly promoted Prescot Cables as managerial team and players leave amid ‘turmoil’

An Open Letter to Prescot Cables fans, volunteers and observers 📃 pic.twitter.com/cnoPcSpNDx

— Prescot Cables FC (@PrescotCablesFC) July 16, 2024

OPEN LETTER:

Cables supporters; the last 24hrs have been an emotional and evocative time for everybody connected to the club.

Since the club statement was issued last night regarding the departure of Steven Daley & Peter Cumiskey, there has been much speculation regarding the circumstances of their leaving, after what was such a memorable season for us all.

The club would therefore like to clarify some information in the hope that supporters will have a better understanding as to what has led to Ste and Wacker stepping down from their positions.

After our Promotion, the 1st Team Management indicated to the Board of Directors what they believed to be a necessary budget to compete in the Northern Premier League Premier Division, a budget that would secure some of the identified targets and see some additional players put onto contracts.

We acknowledge that an enhanced budget proposed by the Management was necessary for the club to adapt into the NPL Premier and meet the managements request.

However, the new budget proposed would, in simple terms, see us spending more than we earn by quite a considerable amount.

We endorsed this budget in the hope that the club would be able to bridge some of this shortfall by securing additional funding though, but not limited to, new sponsorship and other new revenue streams.

It has since become clear that whilst we are not a million miles away, we have not been able to fully bridge this gap in revenue.

We should make clear that both Steven and Peter indicated early on their desired budget for 2024/25, but it has become apparent that there remains a shortfall in revenue for us to be able to fully commit to this without their being some jeopardy to the clubs ability to operate.

Steven and Peter have exercised their right to step down from the club on this basis and can do so in the knowledge that they achieved great things at Prescot Cables FC.

It goes without saying but so much of our success has been down to their hard work and dedication.

We would like to reassure supporters that the club is not close to becoming insolvent.

Whoever takes the reigns at Prescot Cables will be given a budget the highest that this club has ever operated with.

We do not accept relegation as an inevitability and we encourage supporters not to either.

We will fight in every game next season – both home and away – and with your backing the club can and will continue to build on the foundations laid in 2023/24.

There has been a great deal of anger over the last 24hrs, particularly on our social media accounts, with personal insults aimed at individual members of the Board.

Please try to remain respectful and refrain from using inflammatory or insulting language.

The Board of Directors are local people, who have families and in some cases young children.

Each Director is a volunteer who only wants to help the club in whichever way they can.

Directors do not take a penny out of the club in wages.

We hope to be able to make an announcement in the coming days regarding a new management team.

Prescot Cables celebrate our 140th Anniversary this year, and have absolutely Doubt; We will keep fighting for 140 more.

Thank you for your support

We are happy to confirm that Dave Dempsey & his Assistant Chris Stammers have agreed to join Prescot Cables as 1st Team Management.
Dave has a 4 year spell at PCFC during his playing career and knows the club well.
Welcome to L34, @davedemps13! pic.twitter.com/R9xlha4nGY

— Prescot Cables FC (@PrescotCablesFC) July 17, 2024

We wish to inform supporters that Manager Dave Dempsey and Chris Stammers have departed the club with immediate effect to join Prescott Cables FC in the higher NPL.

Despite this untimely departure we wish them all the best, the recruitment process has already started 💚⚽️

— Burscough FC (@BurscoughFC1946) July 17, 2024

STATEMENT ON NEW MANAGER:

Cables have moved quickly to appoint a new manager with former player and non-league stalwart Dave Dempsey appointed to the role

We are happy to confirm that Dave Dempsey and his assistant Chris Stammers have agreed to join Prescot Cables as 1st Team Management.

Dave had a 4 year spell at PCFC during his playing career and knows the club well.

Dave has extensive experience in The Pitching In Northern Premier League formerly managing Widnes before heading North to Clitheroe where he achieved a 3rd place finish in 2022/23.

He joined Burscough last season and helped them to secure safety in the NWCL.

Dave now joins Cables ahead of our return to the NPL Premier.

This is how Twitter users responded, as Prescot Cables issue an open letter to fans, explaining ‘turmoil’ and quickly appoint new manager…

@RussWWFC: Think the correct decision was made. If you haven’t got the money, you can’t spend it. No point risking the club’s future, hopefully you can still do ok on a sensible budget.

@JoeBillGibbo: A sensible approach. Colls stuck to our guns and had a low budget for the entirety of our stay in the league. We knew we wouldn’t be top half, in reality, and would be towards the bottom. Last season we got relegated, but did so having not put the future of the club in danger.

@ChizambardKB: If we were “not a million miles away” from the required amount, why hasn’t there been a fundraising event at the club? A “call to arms” (or alms)? This should have happened months ago, too. I’ve not seen any fans mention a fear of insolvency, either

@01iver_Nnewa11: Very easy to throw abuse at Boards without knowing the pressures that comes with running a football club. Many people would love teams to push too far with budgets but will be the first to complain when a club goes bust. Good luck for the season.

@Bowie19891878: Business is business. I’m sure the clubs assurances to management would have been in good faith. If the shortfall was small and unfortunately not able to be met, you would think loyal people would still want to have a go at it after such a great year together.

@Jeff_PCFC: What is the amount of the shortfall that “isn’t a million miles away”? 5k, 10k, 20k, more? Whats wrong with selling shares, 500 of them at £10 each gets us 5k. What about merchandise to further promote the club & brand? Many other ideas are possible!

@dash71_: I tip my hat to the committee to have the bravery and strength of making a hard, but necessary decision to keep your club going. I wish you luck 👍

@StevenRowlands1: Thanks for the communication but the loss of 7 players and cancellation of 3 Pre-season matches not addressed.

@roverkopite:
Might’ve been worth putting this through a spell check & proof-read before release?
It does still beg the questions,
– was the Board remiss in allowing players to be signed when the funding wasn’t secure?
– could a fundraising drive not have addressed the budget shortfall?

@andamg1969: Will the loss of sponsors and gate revenue overshadow the shortfall in budget? Very appreciative of the clarification. Let’s hope it doesn’t negativity affect the club. Fully appreciate how difficult this is for all involved.

@Pablo_90210 This is on the board. You signed up to a budget, signed management & players, then changed direction during pre-season. Securing good players at this time with this reputational damage, will be difficult. You don’t accept relegation is inevitable but you’ve made it more likely.

@ThePieman13: Something doesn’t add up here, literally. If you have ‘the highest budget ever’ and ‘not a million miles from desired one’, how have we lost EVERY new signing and 3 established first team players? We are much weaker than how we finished last season with a high budget? Come on.

@RossendaleWhit1: Fans and managers will let the board spend & spend & spend. Respect to whoever put the brake on to protect the immediate future of the club. Managers & players will come & go but hopefully the club is forever.

@meolscop1978: At what point did you make an approach to pinch the management team at Burscough? Before getting rid your old one or shortky after?How much are you paying them? And how much have you promised them?

@GlenSTFC: Surely it’s basic business sense to not commit to such a budget before the necessary extra funds were in place or the board were prepared to bridge the gap until it was. Just makes the club look very naive. Or the club were that desperate to keep them they accepted their budget.

@RClayton237: So your happy to let these ‘foundations’ all walk out of the club??

@jamiewelsh_jay1: Can’t win here the board @PrescotCablesFC have been open with the management and are getting slated if they hadn’t and got 6 months in and ran out of money imagine the mess and the outrage then least this way the new manager knows he got a full season to work a miracle

@joebyrne4949: I’m sure all fans are grateful for the communication. It’s a shame but if the funding is not there, it can’t be given out. Sad to see the management team go but the club still stands and needs people through the gate more than ever. Bring on NPL Prem 🐂

@PaulRoo6Times: Unless you’re a Non League Club with rich owners this can be very difficult IMO it can be better to be a big fish in a small pond than a smaller fish in a bigger pond and as a example Marske tried to bankroll it just to stay in a division that was perhaps beyond them,tricky times

@RClayton237: If we’re struggling to pay these players then why not although you may not like it yourselves attempt a fundraiser? We as supporters would all chip in big or small to help and keep the club in a good way

@chrisprice865: Shame Ste was not given the budget that the club knew they could afford so he could have then made decisions and all his and Wackers hard work put in would not have been wasted. Whatever has happened, no abuse should be aimed at individuals, especially all the hard work put in.

@MaxBarlow02: this was needed 24 hours ago, but better late than never. No one is bigger than the club! UTFC 💛🖤