Gregor Rioch discusses 'sustainability' at Wigan Athletic, perceived 'managed decline', and why he's given social media the boot

We hear a lot of the word 'sustainability'...for those who perhaps don't fully understand, what is 'sustainability', as you understand it?

That's probably more for the MD (Sarah Guilfoyle) and the board. I'm not on the board, I sit below the board. Because I have the word 'director' in my job title of sporting director, some people might think I'm on the board, but that's not the case. At some clubs it's head of football operations, at some it's director of football, at some it's technical director...sporting director is all very similar to that. Each club is different, and this role is filled by people with very different skill sets. It's a role the club brought in during the summer of 2023. What I will say is we have an owner in Mike Danson who is willing to support the club day in, day out. And I think we always have to remember that, and be very careful in how we go about things. Because I feel there is a lot of disrespect being shown by some people. We have been through some extremely tough times, and we have seen owners come and go. Now we have an owner who could give us time, in the same way as Mr Whelan did. He's very committed, fully committed, to Wigan Athletic, and the Wigan Sporting Clubs. I think the majority see that, and they understand it. But there is a minority that really don't see that, and really don't understand it. The fact is, without them, we wouldn't be here today. I think that should give credit in the bank. They are making a huge commitment to this football club each and every day, and we should be grateful to them for that. Look, we're all asking for more, we're all asking for bigger budgets, we're all wanting to spend millions of pounds on players...but where does that get to before it becomes unreasonable, or unsustainable? Without going into specific numbers - but they are clear for anyone to see in the end of year accounts - most clubs in League One are losing between five and 10 million pounds per year. It's alarming. It's a case of 'can we help along the way...can we develop a good player trading model...can we bring players through the Academy to bring in money...' which will help towards that? That is key.

The phrase 'managed decline' has been used by some about the situation at the moment. How would you respond to those fans?

The perception of that is possibly because of the current league position, and the results of late. And nobody's hiding from any of that. I don't really like doing interviews like this but, at the same time, people say that's part of my role, and I have to be better at that. I know I need to communicate better with our fanbase as their sporting director. And I will work on that. But we're not hiding. We know results have to be better, performances have to be better, they're both not at a level we would have been expecting. The obvious questions then will be focused on Ryan, and to myself, and to the players. We will continue to stick together, and I ask - and urge - the supporters to also stick together. Because there will be good times round the corner. When I saw our fanbase at Preston - and I spoke to a number of fans, many close friends - all I heard was it was the best away end in years. When you see them get behind the team, you can see what the team can do. And we saw what the team did when they were 3-0 down at Doncaster...once that first goal arrived, it sparked the fans, and the backing for that last half an hour was absolutely amazing. And you could see the impact it had on the players. That's the power and the connectivity we have here at Wigan Athletic...what we can have, and what we need to continue to have. The fans are probably waiting for the players to spark things into life, and the players might sometimes need the fans to spark them into life. Let's not wait for each other...let's start well as players and start well as fans...together, as one. To the fans...the players need you right now. They need you more than ever. They've shown they will respond to your support, they're playing for our head coach, in the way they never gave up at Doncaster. They kept going, that's what the supporters expect, and that's what I want from everyone connected to the club. I know there's stuff that's being said about what's going on behind the scenes...we're not blind, we see it. But I would urge for this weekend to park all that and get behind the team, your team. We need three points this weekend. To get ourselves a bit further up the league. Let's start being positive, let's start climbing, it will happen, it will occur. And there are big ambitions for this football club. Like with transfers, you don't always shout about them until they're here and in place. But they are there...we just need to get there...as one.

You've taken the decision to step away from social media this week...how hard is it to read stuff about you online that isn't true, which some people take as fact?

Some people have a perception about what a sporting director is and what a sporting director does. And they don't know, because every sporting director role at every club is different. There are huge differences and varying skill sets at each club in the role - some people come into it from a recruitment world...where it's solely scouting, and identifying and recruiting players...and the head coach just deals with what's given to him. That's not us, but the perception is there, I get it. At some clubs, the sporting director is multi-departmental, and that is me. I oversee, facilitate, help, operate. I know everyone at the football club, and have done for a number of years. People will come to me to get things done from different departments...one of the players in our Women's team might need to go for a scan, and go to see a specialist about an injury...I will put them in touch with our first-team medical doctor...I am the link between those facets...that is all part of my role, which some people don't see. And it is hard. We live in a world of social media. So much of it is a fabricated world of lies and rumours, that have no evidence or substance. It's not a nice platform. And it's something that is very difficult to manage. Because there is also some very good stuff on there, where you do find out stuff...who's going where, etc. I will be coming off there as of now. Because I'm just sick and tired of the lies and the rumours, with the lack of evidence. I've spoken to a few people who have had real issues, at other clubs, where people on that platform have been investigated. And in one case, for around a hundred people that were thought to be involved, there were actually 13/14 individuals, with multiple accounts, writing and responding to themselves and each other for interaction. That's why we have so many faceless accounts, and those people do not interest me at all. We're in a world where we hear a lot about looking after each other's mental wellbeing. Being on there is not good for my wellbeing. And it's not good for my family's wellbeing. I was at the training ground on Thursday morning, there were a couple of supporters, lovely people, who were really upset and worried about how things are going at the moment. I spoke to them for 15-20 minutes, and one of them said they were refreshing Twitter every two minutes to see if anything was going on. I thought to myself: You're doing yourselves poor service in terms of mental health. It's not healthy. What you get is a small group of people, who all of a sudden look to bring about a pile-on. And unfortunately it works. I have got people who have sent me terrible abuse on Twitter that, when I've checked their profile, they say they are advocates of mental health...have a look around guys! Look, we're tough enough, and we can take criticism when we've made mistakes, when it's fair and when it's delivered in the right way. I have no issue with that. But it goes beyond that. And I know people think: 'It's only football, it's all right'. And it's not. You know what? The Wigan people are not that. They're not that. They're not yob mentality. They're good people. Honest people. Hard-working people. And I think the majority - while obviously frustrated with the way things are going at the moment - understand the situation, and know how to show that the right way. And they are the key supporters. Then you have a few who don't quite know how to voice their opinions and frustrations properly. They think that's the only way. And it's not actually.