ALTY boss Graham Heathcote insists he is not handing down any ultimatums despite suggesting pressure from fans could force him to quit.

Heathcote came in for abuse from certain members of the Moss Lane crowd during Saturday's 4-1 opening day defeat to Exeter.

And, after the game, the frustrated Robins chief suggested that expectations at the club were getting out of hand.

Survival is still the primary aim at the part-time club and Heathcote hopes fans, staff and players at the club can all pull together to ensure that target is reached.

"I have great support from a lot of people at this club and at times it seems as if I'm having a pop at everybody," he said this week.

"But I'm not. I'm having a pop at the people who are questioning where this club is going, who are questioning what I earn and criticising tactics and players.

"I am quite happy to discuss anything with fans face to face but there is no point in shouting abuse from the sidelines.

"I have a 10-year-old son so I have got to the stage where I have to be careful about what kind of thing he hears at games.

"I want to build a club that he can be proud to support in 10 years time so he doesn't need to see people hurling abuse at his dad or me reacting to that.

"It was disappointing that i had supporters questioning what I earn. I can guarantee them that not only do I earn less than the figures they were throwing around, but that whatever I do earn, I put in a lot of time and effort for it.

"There's two ways to manage a football club. One is to be selfish and the other is to work in conjunction with the board.

"I'm happy to keep on working with my board. They let me know what I am able to do and I trust them.

"But we are working with limited resources so it's difficult at times and I need all the encouragement I can get, not the slagging off I got on Saturday."

Despite the disappointment of Saturday's 4-1 defeat, Heathcote is confident his new squad can do the club proud this season.

He added: "I wouldn't knock any of the players after Saturday.

"We didn't have enough quality going forward in the second half and we knocked too many long balls upfield but for 60 minutes we played very well.

"Once they got two goals in three minutes, it completely changed my train of thought.

"We went from a position where we would have been able to sit in and defend our lead to one where we had to go out and chase a result.

"We had to go for a goal and that opened us up to be picked off.

"I believe, in time, that this team will prove to be a better team than last season and that's all I can ask for.

"We just don't need big expectations piled on the players because they need to be relaxed and comfortable when they are going out there.

"Maybe we have inadvertently raised hopes by announcing that we had raised the wage budget this season.

"But people have got to realise that a third of that rise went automatically to the existing players because I couldn't bring in new players on more money and not pay them a fair wage.

"I bet my bottom dollar that we are still in the bottom two or three in this league in terms of budget.

"So we have to stay realistic. We just can't compete with a lot of the teams in this league."