The part about the fanbase, he has no sympathy from me, he knew fine well what he was signing up for but still had the hubris or narcissism to take the job. His tactics were what killed it for me like, absolutely awful, for a supposed defensive manager we were like a tetley tea bag at the back.
I think his biggest mistake was not trying to get the fanbase onside the minute he showed up
A comprehensive apology for the small club comment was an absolute must
He didn't have to bag on Liverpool or anything, but just make it clear that he said what he said in anger and that he apologised and wanted to start off on the right foot
I can maybe speak only for myself here, but that would have satisfied me and I would have been far more likely to stick up for him during tricky times because he'd done it
To not do so was a complete lack of courtesy and contrition on his part, and the relationship was never going to work from that point on, especially as it made the "just get over it" shouts from his defenders all the more hollow. It's very hard to just "get over" something if the other party makes zero effort to try and resolve it. I'm not having the half-baked "my comments were misinterpreted" nonsense either. He knew what he said and why, and the fact he tried to dance around it was all the more insulting. He should have owned it and apologised
