Former Swindon Town chairman Andrew Fitton said that he believes Clem Morfuni can restore his relationship with the fans if he is willing to change his ways.

The Adver spoke to Fitton to get a perspective from the boardroom on the current goings on at the County Ground and he felt that the current situation between Morfuni and the fans was not irreparable, but would require change.

He said: “I am certain that there is a way back, because there is always a way back, but it is going to take some work and a degree of honesty and humility.

“But he [Morfuni] may not be in a position to do that, that honesty and humility may require him to put in more money than he is willing to.

“It takes a degree of communication and mea culpa and getting the supporters in and saying ‘we have made some mistakes; these are the good things we have done, these are the mistakes we have made, and this is how we are going to address them.'

“But I don’t know if he is going to do that, a lot of people won’t. How many football chairmen have you seen, I don’t know the man so I am not putting him in this category, who refuse to listen? As happened at Blackpool when he locked the fans out basically.

“I would come out and be straight, but you have got to have a plan. We have all met chairmen who say ‘Premier League in five years’, it has to be a pretty detailed plan without being wildly ambitious.

“You don’t have to be in the Championship to make progress, you can steadily get there.”

The former chairman added that reacting poorly to fan criticism was not an option for Morfuni.

He said: “People’s personalities are different and I have no doubt that I have been guilty of when criticised saying ‘Well I am off,’ but you don’t have that choice when you own a football club.

“The open letter would have made me want to engage, but I don’t think I would have let it get to that stage.

“You don’t have a choice but to engage with your fan base and you mess with them at your peril.

“That club needs not 7,000 or 8,000 coming through the door, it needs 10,000 or 11,000 to have any chance of making money. So, why would you alienate those people?”