Former manager Steve Wignall remains at loggerheads with the Roots Hall side after his dismissal from his post in early November last year. The boss is claiming back £25,000, which represents a third of the remaining wages of his two-year contract, which was terminated after just six months under his tenure. Martin has threatened to counter-sue Wignall for £50,000, although at the moment he and deputy chairman Geoffrey King are more concerned with not having to pay the money the ex-Colchester United man wants.
Martin explained, “Wignall proposed a settlement figure [believed to be in the region of £20,000] which we refused, but we will be reviewing it again in the next few days. That’s all I’m prepared to say at the moment”. Meanwhile, Martin also disclosed details of United’s rent payments on Roots Hall and Boots & Laces: “We have written off the rent up until July 2003”.
The director also told the Echo, “We have not budgeted for any further years yet so it’s too early to say what will happen. [Rent] should be charged at ten percent, so that’s £100,00 a year for the training ground and around £500,000 for the stadium but that has not been enforced”. The good news for Blues fans is that United are no longer in debt to Lloyds Bank or the Inland Revenue: “The only debts we have now are to Martin Dawn and Delancey so we’re in much safer hands”.
However, amongst all the good news for the Seasiders, plans for the new stadium at Fossetts Farm could be scuppered before they have even been submitted. The club have been supported in their plans for a new ground adjacent to the area where B&Q is currently being constructed, but Southend council chief executive George Kraweic, who had been a key player in allaying Martin’s fears over it’s acceptance at local level, is leaving to join North East Lincolnshire council.
Martin remained defiant, declaring, “It won’t alter anything. It’s obviously a shame as he was very pro-active and was doing a good job but it’s not just him who decides on our new stadium – it’s the council as a whole. I’m surprised he’s decided to go”. Ominously he concluded, “Now we need someone of a similar ilk”. It remains to be seen if that is the case, but Southend supporters will have their fingers crossed that Martin’s prophecies come true.
Robert Craven
www.thelittlegazette.com