Lee Howells slams Bath City boo-boys after 'Manda out' chant at Weston

Lee Howells has slammed the handful of Bath City fans who called for the head of chairman Manda Rigby during Tuesday night's 4-1 victory at Weston-super-Mare.

The win was City's first for almost two months and they went into the game with only goal difference keeping them out of the Blue Square Bet South relegation zone.

With the departures of stalwart Jim Rollo, Glyn Garner, Sean Canham and Luke Cummings last week leaving City desperately short on numbers and adding fuel to the fire for Rigby's critics, the chant "We want Manda out" emanated from behind the goal the visitors were attacking in the second half.

They led 2-1 at the time and went on to wrap up the points through Josh Low and debutant Michael Stephenson but the episode tainted a very good night's work for head coach Howells.

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"I don't get where the stick is coming from," he said.

"You've got the crowd singing 'get Rigby out', which is pretty unacceptable. I don't understand what they want or what they are trying to achieve by doing that.

"She is the chairman of the football club and, without her, the football club isn't going to go forward if it wants a new ground.

"I thought supporters supported their football club. Don't sing songs about getting the chairman out. If they want to give anyone stick, come and see me. I can take it all day long and would have no problem with that.

"When I first came to this club I heard all of this nonsense about 'Bath deserve the best'," Howells added.

"We've had a good few years at this football club and at this moment it is in tough times but we've all got to take it on the chin together.

"If people expect to win games week in, week out then go and watch Manchester United. We are in transition and it is going to take a bit of time for us to get to where we want to get to."

Bath & North East Somerset councillor Rigby has ploughed at least £140,000 of her own money into the club since replacing Geoff Todd as chairman in August 2011 and close-season cutbacks off the field have made her role an increasingly hands-on one this term.

She travelled on the Supporters' Club coach on Tuesday night and was heartened by the backing she received from the majority of those who made the short trip to the seaside town.

"A lot of them came up to me afterwards, gave me a cuddle, and said 'that was for you'," said Rigby. "I'd prefer to look at the positives rather than the negatives.

"I'm obviously disappointed but I know the truth of what is going on at the club and can't let it get to me."

Meanwhile, Rigby has confirmed that the Dave Palmer Fund, which had been used to support the wages of Cummings, would now assist with the running of City's under-21 development squad instead.