ANDY KING bluntly accepts he is fighting a hopeless battle with his detractors but is urging supporters not to turn on his team.

In an extremely frank pre-match interview, the manager has admitted that a minority of Town fans will never be satisfied with him, regardless of results or success.

King knows that the knives are out in certain quarters and that defeat at home to Stockport County tomorrow will simply stoke the fires of discontent.

He said: "I think there is an element which has never accepted me.

"You have to face that in football, everyone wants their own manager and perceives how he should be.

"I've always had to do it the hard way here.

"There are parts of me that it hurts though.

"They can be very unforgiving with short memories."

King even rejects suggestions that two or three good results would be enough to stop the abuse.

He feels a minority of fans will not accept him, whatever his past or future achievements including getting to the play-offs.

He said: "It'd be alright until we got to the play-offs and then it'd start again if it went wrong.

"All I'll keep doing is believing in the players I've got.

"The day it gets to the stage where I'm hung then I'm hung. But I won't stop my beliefs and my passion and they (the critics) won't dampen me in any way."

King said his thoughts had been brought into sharp focus by the death of a young Swindon Town fan this week.

He said: "This young lad never once moaned about the team, he supported and supported.

"I'll be thinking of him on Saturday.

"If they want to boo, they're only affecting their own team.

"I've been through harder situations than this."

While King knows the boos could be ringing out before a quarter to five if Town fail to deliver against Stockport, he is at least hoping there will be support from the off.

He said: "This is Swindon Town. It's their team, their football club. We all want to win football matches."

Director Bob Holt has given the under-fire manager his backing ahead of tomorrow's game with Stockport County.

He said: "Andy King has led us through worse storms than this."

Aside from the boo-boys issue, King looks set to alter his line-up yet again.

One enforced change will be at the back with Jerel Ifil out again through suspension.

Should he opt for a 4-4-2 formation then Jamie Slabber looks likely to start.