Fans' Survey: Rob Smith's the AFC Telford man for us

Smith masterminded the Bucks' great escape to stay in National League North after they were bottom of the table from August to March, staying up with one game to spare.

A huge majority of 90 per cent of the 200-plus fans who completed surveys said they were happy with the job Smith has done and pleased he has signed a two-year contract extension to stay.

Nearly two-thirds (64 per cent) said they were not satisfied with Telford's final league position. Again, almost two-thirds blamed Kittrick, who recruited numerous players who failed to make a lasting impact such as Josh Brizell, Mark Lees, Johnny Gorman, Greg Wilkinson, Jordan Goddard and Danny O'Callaghan.

But if fans are happy with the job Smith is doing, they are far less satisfied with the way chairman Ian Dosser is performing, with 79 per cent of Bucks followers saying he can improve in his role.

This may come on the back of the financial struggles the club has endured more acutely over the last 12 months.

And yet interestingly, just a little over 12 months after dropping out of the National League Premier, almost three-quarters of Telford fans who answered have placed stability (71 per cent) above a promotion push back to the top tier of non-league football.

This feeling was reinforced by 79 per cent of supporters saying that putting the club's long-term interests at heart was the most important attribute for board members.

Seventy-one per cent reckoned Telford's struggles in National League North were down to poor recruitment, with just over a fifth (22 per cent) blaming under-performing players.

After more than 45 players used this season, 97 per cent of fans said the Bucks need to make at least four signings this summer.

On the flip side, not surprisingly, Curtis Tilt and player of the year Dwayne Samuels featured highly in the fans' choices in terms of who has impressed them this season.

Just under half (49 per cent) said Tilt was the best permanent signing followed by Samuels (18 per cent), while Samuels polled top choice for player of the season (36 per cent) and Tilt was second, nine percentage points lower.

Telford are likely to seek new faces in midfield with Jack Rea possibly following Jordan Wynter out, while up front they have lost Connor McCarthy back to Southport, released John Cofie and may be priced out of keeping Josh Wilson.

And the fans concur with the management here, with almost three-quarters of those surveyed believing Smith and assistant Larry Chambers need to focus on strengthening the midfield and attack after keeping Samuels and Tilt. Two centre-backs – Ben Bailey and Dan Preston – have arrived during the survey period.

The survey was introduced before managing director Lee Carter announced he was stepping down a week last Friday. A little over half (53 per cent) were happy with the job he was doing.