An open letter to Chester FC supporters from Calum McIntyre

Calum McIntyre has penned an open letter to Chester FC supporters...

The opportunity to manage Chester Football Club over the past four seasons has been a privilege. This club has been an enormous part of my life and today brings an end to a 14-year association with the club that I have been so very proud to represent.

I joined the club in 2012 as a junior coach, helping establish the Academy before moving into a full-time role in 2016. I worked with so many special colleagues and players, and under so many talented managers. Seeing genuine local, home-grown talent represent the club and progress into professional football was incredibly special. To have helped 20 players come through the Academy and make first team league appearances, and seeing some of them moving to EFL and Premier League clubs, generating over a quarter of a million pounds in transfer fees, is something I am so proud to have been a part of.

When I was offered the opportunity to become First Team Manager in May 2022, I did so knowing that one day this would bring my time at the club to an end. I took the role at a challenging time for the club with a desire to create some ‘special days’ for you as supporters, and to move the club forward.

Every single day during my time at the club I have worked to the same mantra: “Club first. Others second. Yourself third”. I recognise this season has fallen short of the standards we have set in previous years, and of the expectations that were formed last summer. Ultimately, this responsibility rests with the manager.

While I am clear we haven’t achieved the ultimate goal of promotion, I hope you share the feeling that we have created some special memories together. Off the pitch, it has been so pleasing to see the growth in attendances, the incredible away followings, and to see so many younger fans begin following the club. To have helped generate funds through our FA Cup exploits and to have received over £120,000 in transfer fees over the past three seasons has hopefully given the Club a platform to grow behind the scenes. To see, and hear, the Harry Mac full on so many occasions is something I will not forget.

On the pitch, That feeling at full-time after the play-off semi-final at Kidderminster is something I genuinely cannot describe and those scenes at the end were something that every part of me had been desperate for.

There are memories and achievements that I will treasure for the rest of my life: taking the club back into the FA Cup proper at Hartlepool; our record breaking away run in 2022-23; and finally winning a play-off tie for the first time in the club’s history. They are special memories to me because we achieved them together: players; staff; and supporters. Everyone played their part.

In all honesty, I never saw myself managing the club for four seasons. I’m proud to call Chester home and working for your hometown club is something that has perhaps weighed heavy at times in the past 18 months. I believe Football Clubs need to stay fresh, they need new ideas and new people, and it is time for the club to enter a new chapter under a new manager. I had intended to complete this season to ensure responsibility for however this season ends rests solely with me, and in doing so, give the club the best possible opportunity to appoint the right candidate to take the club forward next season. It is now felt by all parties that it is in the right thing for the football club that my time here comes to an end now.

There have been so many special people at the football club, on and off the pitch, that I have had the honour of working with over so many years. I would like to particularly thank the incredible volunteers that make the club tick. The role you play doesn’t go unnoticed and I thank you for your work in ensuring we were able to put a team out on the pitch on a Saturday afternoon. I would like to thank every single player that I have worked with over the past four seasons. Getting to know you and seeing your work ethic is something I reflect so fondly on. Thank you for the environment you created and the part you have played at the club. I would like to particularly thank my coaching staff for their work ethic, their loyalty but above all else their friendship. They are some of the best human beings that I have ever met and it has been a privilege to work with them. We have stuck together in some difficult moments and I feel so grateful to have shared so many unforgettable experiences with them.

Last but certainly not least, I would like to speak directly to the supporters. Thank you so much for your incredible support throughout the past four seasons. I will always associate you with some incredible moments and special memories. Supporters are the life blood of any football club but even more so at Chester. Every single penny that is spent on the football pitch is the hard-earned money of passionate supporters who are desperate to see their club succeed. Thank you for the backing, the belief and those memories you have helped us create in recent seasons. It has been an honour to represent you over 200 times and your support has never gone unnoticed. I will always regret never quite getting the club over the line and achieving the promotion you crave, but I hope we have done things together that have made you believe in YOUR football club. Please give this team and especially the next manager the same backing that I was honoured to receive every single week as they begin the next chapter in the club’s history. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. Thank you so very much.

It has been a privilege to represent Your City, Your Community and Your Club.

Pictured - Calum McIntyre.