Statement: Billy Walton on Martin Ford

Beckenham Town assistant manager Billy Walton has this message for Martin Ford, who has been diagnosed with cancer.

“Everyone in our football community has got to get behind Martin Ford’s fight so let’s flood him with ‘you can beat this’ messages.

Love him or hate him, Martin is and always will be a football man.

I first met him playing football 30 years’ ago and I hated him and his team – but Martin could play and I knew then he was a winner.

Over the years’ our paths crossed and I got to know him more and more and I got to know him better and I thought he was not that bad, just someone who loved football and wanted to win.

People don’t like winners and Martin is certainly a winner and he has great knowledge of football and should have managed a lot higher but I suppose he upset too many other people in the game with his views – but what’s wrong with that?

Martin now has a big match to win and he needs big players on his side now.  Love him or hate him, he’s really not that bad a person, he’s just a winner!”