David Haythornthwaite: Blame me if AFC Fylde go down

The decisions which may have led to Fylde's relegation were mine admits David Haythornthwaite

Fylde may go down but we won't go away vows owner

The Coasters are staring down the barrel of a return to the National League North just a season on from being within one victory of reaching the Football League.

Should play-offs go ahead in the National League North and South, it appears Fylde’s fate will be sealed.

It comes after a vote last week by National League clubs saw Fylde finish the season second from bottom after final standings were decided by an unweighted points-per-game average.

Should relegation eventually be confirmed, Fylde’s chairman admits the buck must stop with him.

“We are an ambitious club and have had 12 years of unprecedented success from starting, literally, in a field with a few cows watching us to going to Wembley twice in a year,” Haythornthwaite told the club website.

“That’s incredible and this season has been the first time we’ve ever had a bad season, though I’d temper that by saying we got to the FA Cup third round and went to Sheffield United.

“But you have to be grown up about it and take it on the chin.

“Some people say, ‘That’s it, he’ll throw his toys out of the pram, take his money out and he’ll be off.’

“The problem is they don’t know me and when it gets tough is probably when I get a bit tougher myself.

“That challenge to me is just as great because it was tough to get out of the National League North, and if we are in it, it will be tough to get out again.

“But everybody at AFC Fylde will be fully focused on that job and we’ll go in there totally professional and it will be our aim to get out at the first attempt.

“With the squad we’ve got together and managed to keep together, we’re more than capable of winning that league.

“Sometimes you have to take your punishment and ultimately we were in the relegation positions because of bad decisions and those bad decisions were mainly ones that I either instigated or sanctioned.

“So the buck stops firmly with me. You can point fingers at lots of different people but ultimately I’m the owner of the club and the chairman.

“So there’s nobody else to blame, except for me, for the position we currently find ourselves in.

“Let me be clear, we’ll take our medicine. We’re not going to moan about it. We’ll get on with it and come back stronger as a club.”