Keith returns as manager in stressful week

By Nathan Jackson
January 5 2006

Keith Alexander has officially been taken off of " gardening leave" and is now back as first team manager after a long week. It seems to be a LONG time since we all heard about Keith and Gary being put on leave but around 5:30pm, the club released an offical statement confirming Keith is staying with the Imps.

With the news that Gary Simpson had already "agreed" to leave the Imps by mutual consent, many suspected that Alexander would follow him out of the door, especially with one of his biggest backers, Ray Trew resigning earlier this afternoon, however, a statement in the early hours of the evening confirmed that Keith Alexander is back in charge at Sincil Bank.

“Further to a meeting held with Keith Alexander and his representative, Charles Collymore, we are pleased to announce that Keith will be remaining with Lincoln City as per his existing contract.

“We would like to confirm that any issues were totally and completely resolved and this will allow Keith to resume his duties without any compromise or actions on our part.

“At this point the Board would like to apologise to Keith for the unfortunate sequence of events leading to his suspension and this act had nothing to do with anything he was responsible for. It was part of an urgent issue that required Board attention.”

In a lengthy press conference, all parties looks exhausted. Many questions were left unanswered but Keith Alexander himself gave a few words of thanks for the fans who had supported him.

“I’ve had a lot of messages from the fans,” he continued. “I’ve always felt I’ve had a good rapport with the supporters – I know I shout at one or two of those behind me on a Saturday afternoon, but it is very much a family club and the fans are part and parcel of that.

“I know everybody wants to get out of this division and I know the fans have been disappointed at times with some of the performances and the results this season. So have we, but it’s been a transitional period. We’re still right in there and we’re looking to get some new players in for the second half of the season and push on.”

Keith also commented on the speculation about Jon Parkin and confirmed that the Imps would now persue the striker, a bit of news that will please most Imps' fans.

“We’re certainly going to be going back and having a look to see what Macclesfield are looking for. We’re looking to make another bid, but we’ve got to look at the finances and see what we can afford. We’re definitely going to be speaking to his people.”

Keith's first game back in charge will be Saturday's tricky trip to Wrexham.