- Fans praised the non-league manager after his team’s latest defeat
- Horndean FC manager Michael Birmingham has gone viral for his post-match stance
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A furious non-league manager has gone viral after attacking his players in a surprisingly honest post-match interview that left fans roaring with laughter.
In stark contrast to the often robotic interviews of Premier League managers, non-league football gives an insight into how fiercely competitive the local grassroots really are.
That passion turned to fury at the weekend when non-league Horndean FC were beaten 4-0 on Saturday and team manager Michael Birmingham joined his team after the game.
The coach was recovering from another torrid performance that left his team in 14th place in the South Central Isthmus Division, with just 11 points in nine games, and sent a wake-up call to his team.
Speaking after the defeat, Birmingham fumed: “I hope our players have enough Sudocrem at home because they’ve been slapped today.”
Horndean FC boss Michael Birmingham (pictured) has gone viral for a recent post-match rant.
“Fair play to Raynes Park, they were the best team by far, the best team we have played this season, ruthless.”
“I thought the centre-forward, number 20 up top, was absolutely magnificent.
‘I wish I had one of them. At the moment I have four symbolic gestures as a center forward; not even four together can resemble anything that has to do with him.
“The only positive thing that came out of it was that I had a crispy empanada before the game, that was it,” he added.
Birmingham later claimed his team was not meeting his standards, adding: “To be honest, it should have been more today.” For me it’s the basics: they wanted it, the second balls.
‘My whole group has no standards. They don’t give a damn, they just show up and think, ‘Here we go, we’ll follow the formalities.’
‘Today they discovered them and you know what? I hope they hurt and everything, I hope they can’t sit down for a week and I hope they run out of Sudocrem,’ he said.
The video has since gone viral with over 700,000 views on X and fans praising Birmingham for his refreshing analysis that has made him a non-league celebrity.
“How comforting to hear a coach tell the truth about his team’s poor performance.” said a follower on X.
Another added similarly: “I wish top division coaches were this honest.”