Stick with Alan Knill but Scunthorpe United 'need leader on the pitch' says supporters' club chairman

Leadership is what Scunthorpe United are lacking, according to Scunthorpe United Official Supporters' Club chairman Graham Godson.

Given the current climate, it would be easy to assume he is referring to the manager.

Alan Knill seems to be the target of most fans' frustration, with support seemingly growing for his departure.

Godson though, perhaps goes against the grain when he suggests the best option is to stick with the status quo – at least for the time being.

"Who are you going to replace him with," he questioned.

"Whoever you bring in has still got the same squad of players to work with.

"Steve Wharton (Scunthorpe chairman) is not going to say, here's a load of money to spend. He's not going to throw money around.

"Everyone is saying Brian Laws to come in, but I don't think so.

"There's no-one available at the minute to work with the budget he's got.

"I'm confident we can get out of this. There are signs we're going in the right direction.

"If we can take any positives, they put a better shift in on Saturday against Sheffield United.

"I'm confident he (Knill) will get it right. I will give him time. I said I would give him until middle of October, but I'd probably say January."

Godson believes United's predicament takes its roots in the past.

Although not wishing to pinpoint the chairman, he says greater effort should have been made to keep the club moving forward when they were in the Championship.

"I don't want to blame the chairman. He's the only bloke in the country who wants to run Scunthorpe United," he said. "No-one's queuing up to do it.

"We've had a seven-or-eight year run of absolutely brilliant football, now it's come to a sudden end.

"Anyone who knows anything about Scunthorpe knows it has been lagging since Nigel Adkins left.

"I'm not saying Nigel Adkins was the saviour, he left us with problems as well.

"The club didn't move with the times. They should have invested when we were in the Championship.

"If Steve Wharton wants to find a buyer, he should have sold out when we were in the Championship, when it was worth more.

"Now it's only worth a bag of chips and some scraps.

"Three years ago we had a squad worth about £2.5 million, the squad we've got now is probably worth £250,000, that's the quality we've lost.

"It's made a massive difference. We didn't invest when the time was right.

"It all started when we lost half a side, when they refused to re-sign the likes of Paul Hayes, Grant McCann, Matt Sparrow, Joe Murphy.

"I think it starts at the top and comes to the bottom.

"Steve Wharton's a cracking bloke and has done a lot, but he's maybe over-done it."

That maybe one for hindsight, but in the here and now Godson believes an upturn in fortunes rests on the return of Paul Reid.

The Iron skipper has yet to feature this season after breaking a bone in his hand.

He is though, firmly on the mend and could be back in the squad as early as Shrewsbury on Saturday.

"We need Reid back," said Godson. "There's no leadership on the pitch.

"Cliff Byrne used to come on and bawl and shout in his little Irish manner and put things right. They need to find a leader, that will turn it round.

"If not Paul Reid, then David Prutton. If there's no-one, then we've got a problem.

"There's no-one out there vocal enough or strong enough."

A change in style wouldn't go amiss either.

Here Godson joins what seems to be common consensus when it comes to Knill's brand of passing football.

"If he thinks he can play possession football with what he's got, he's got to start remembering he's playing in League One, which is where the fittest survive the rough and tumble," he said.

"You've got to compete with that and then play possession football. At the moment we're not competing well enough.

"I'm not really happy with it, but I still think he's learning.

"Let's be right about it, he was a boring centre-half when he was at Scunny.

"Where he's got possession football from, I've not got a clue, but he's not going to get out of this league with that."