SOD’S law says that if something can go wrong, it will. Sound familiar? Being curious, I decided to have a look at the origin of Sod’s law and took to Wikipedia for some quick and digestible answers. Everyone’s favourite online encyclopaedia suggested it is derived from Finagle’s law of dynamic negatives which in its basic form suggests anything that can go wrong will – at the worst possible moment. Sound about right?

I didn’t make the trip to Chester on Saturday. Instead I headed to Chesterfield to meet up with some friends. Upon arrival at lunchtime, I discovered David Johnston’s statement on the events off the pitch regarding the club’s finances. With all of the speculation following the transfer of Dave Syers to Farsley, the statement was needed and for me I found it reassuring.

It was good to see clarification of the situation and despite events being a bit suboptimal, it left me feeling a bit happier knowing those who we’ve charged with running the club had taken swift and decisive action to prevent us falling into the same trap which has caught us out time and time again since we took control of our club.

Over recent years, the club has made unsustainable losses which in turn has created a vicious circle of generating debt and then having to figure out how to clear it. At some point we needed to break the habit. The impression I get is the directors understand we need to move away from being so reliant on what happens on the pitch to determine how secure the club is off it.

The employment of a commercial manager is a massive step forward in that respect. It won’t be a quick process. With no benefactor to bankroll an expeditious drive towards sustainability, we’re going to have to be patient. At this time, more than anything else, the club needs stability of leadership. As such, I hope recent events hasn’t put off the directors of either the club or the supporters group.

On Saturday evening, having followed the defeat via Twitter, I noticed a few tweets suggesting I should have a listen of Tommy’s post-game interview. Sure enough, as Twitter had hinted, he touched on players not attending training. This felt like quite an admission but it also went some way to make sense of what we have seen in recent times.

We have struggled with shape and patterns of play, particularly at home, and it now makes sense. Meanwhile, defensively we have looked like a shambles in the manner we have conceded some goals which, again, probably makes more sense now.

For me, what felt almost as damning if not more so was Tommy questioning what the players are doing during the week. I personally interpret that as a manager questioning the professionalism of his players. It would make sense. There have been times this season where we haven’t looked as fit as our opponents.

In a league where professional standards are getting higher and higher, it is incumbent of the players to act as professional as possible, especially when they are paid good money to do so.

I was surprised such an incendiary interview was published, but in the heat of the moment it appeared we’d been provided with an insight in to why this season is proving to be such a challenge. Yes, there have been budget cuts and yes the squad might be threadbare, but if Tommy’s post-game comments are taken at face value, it would appear we are heading in the direction of being our own worst enemies.

If the initial interview was incredulous, the subsequent clarification statement wasn’t any better. For me, it wasn’t remotely as believable as the initial interview and to be honest probably did more damage than good. I can understand why either Tommy, the directors or both felt the need to clarify the matter, but quite simply the horse had already bolted. With events off the pitch in recent weeks, the content of the post-match interview was the last thing the club needed. Finagle’s law indeed.

With bottom-of-the-table Nuneaton Borough in town on Saturday, Tommy and the players will have no safety net. Anything but a rousing performance and three points will simply not be good enough. They owe it to us fans.