Henderson calls on fans to attend public meeting

Cobh Ramblers boss Stephen Henderson has urged fans to show their support for the club by attending a planned public meeting where the future of the Rams will be up for discussion.

A short statement posted on cobhramblers.ie last week notified Cobh followers of the club's plan to organise a meeting at St. Colman's Park where discourse and transparency will be encouraged in order to safeguard the future of the club. The statement read:

“Cobh Ramblers wish to announce their intention to hold a public meeting in the club in the coming weeks with regard to the future governance and direction of the club.

“We will be having an open forum meeting to discuss the future of the club and we would like to welcome and extend an invitation to all supporters of the club to have their say on how they wish the club to be run. Date to be announced.”

While this announcement might have set alarm bells ringing in the ears of some Cobh fans, Rams boss Henderson sees it as a positive move and believes the meeting will present an appropriate platform for Cobh fans to voice their ideas to help the club going forward.

“It's a hugely positive thing in terms of the people that are there are knackered. They've put their heart and soul into it and they've no were else to go,” Henderson told Extratime.ie after Cobh's 2-2 draw with Cabinteely in Stradbrook on Friday night. “Historically, Cobh has always been run by the supporters and potentially what we have is a fantastic League of Ireland football club that needs an awful lot of love and attention.

“It needs somebody who is prepared to give their time and give their effort and the rewards will be huge because we a have a fantastic club that provides League of Ireland football and that can become a focal point for the community.”

Cobh only returned to the League of Ireland in 2013 after a five year absence following their relegation from the Premier Division in 2008 and their subsequent failure to gain a First Division license for the 2009 season. Henderson was Cobh boss for both the promotion winning campaign in 2007 and the low of being kicked out the following year.

In an in-depth interview with local Cork publication Real Magazine, Henderson revealed the recent behind the scenes involvement with Cobh of local businessman Eoin O'Sullivan. Now Hendo is calling on all fans to attend the public meeting – the date of which is yet to be finalised – and follow O'Sullivan's lead in trying to help Cobh reach its centenary year as a League of Ireland entity.

“Cork is big enough to sustain two League of Ireland football clubs and Cobh Ramblers is a fantastic club, she's 100 years in seven years so we want to make sure she hits that centenary,” Henderson told Extratime.ie. “We don't want it breaking down but we do need people to come to that meeting.

“We're looking for anybody who loves football and who has ideas and somebody who has solutions. Not problems,” added Henderson. “We all know what the problems are, we know the problems of the club. It's very transparent, this meeting will be very clear on what the problems are.

“We don't want anybody coming with more problems – we want them to come, listen, give solutions and get this baby back up and running.”

Following last week's stalemate against Cabinteely, Henderson's side return to Dublin this Saturday for their FAI Cup second round clash with Killester United at Haddon Park (kick-off 2.30pm).