King’s Lynn Town manager Paul Caddis has stopped joining his players on the pitch after matches following criticism and personal abuse from sections of the club’s support.

The Linnets boss made the admission after being asked whether he felt he was beginning to win over supporters following the home win against Buxton last weekend.

While his squad and coaching staff went over to celebrate with the travelling fans, Caddis chose to stay away, explaining that he has deliberately changed his approach following some difficult experiences.

“I’ll be honest, I didn’t go over. I’ve stopped going onto the pitch now. I’ve just tried to change a little bit,” he said.

“I used to go onto the pitch all the time because I’m an emotional person. But I think the way I took a lot of criticism and personal abuse was bad for me.

“It’s not that I shy away from it, because that’s something I don’t do. I just felt, why should I put myself in a situation where I know I might receive a bit of abuse?”

Despite those experiences, the Lynn boss was keen to praise the club’s supporters as a whole and insisted his focus remains firmly on delivering results on the pitch.

“The support, on the whole, has been excellent,” he said.

“We came in under really, really tough circumstances last year. My job is to keep trying to win games of football. I can’t change people’s minds and I can’t tell people how to act.

“But if you’re winning games of football, hopefully that brings a little bit of praise and a feel-good factor.

“Listen, I’m not here to be loved. I’m here to be successful for myself, for my family and for the football club. I just want the players to be the best they possibly can.”

And while he is happy for his players to enjoy the acclaim of the supporters, he insists he will never hide when results go against his side.

“To see that reaction from the supporters when our players and staff went over was fantastic,” he added.

“I’ll always be someone who likes to stay out of the way and let the players enjoy those moments.

“I played for 15 or 16 years and I’ve had all those celebrations with supporters. Now it’s time to let the players experience that.

“And if we ever lose a game of football, I’ll always be the first one to stand in front of the supporters.”

Meanwhile, Lynn’s improving form is also providing the manager with a welcome selection headache as players return to fitness.

Although the Linnets suffered two unexpected absences ahead of last weekend, the manager is hopeful of having a much stronger squad available for the trip to Merthyr tomorrow.

Jamal Mohamed was forced to attend A&E after suffering a medical issue, while Josh McCammon also required hospital treatment following a heavy stamp on his foot.

Initial fears that McCammon had suffered a fracture were eased when tests revealed bone bruising, with the player expected to need only a few days to recover.

“We had a really productive week until Thursday night, to be honest. We ended up with two players in hospital on Friday,” the manager explained.

“We went from having a full squad, apart from Tom Dickens, to missing those two and obviously AJ.”

But with the squad approaching full strength, the Lynn boss believes competition for places will only benefit his side.

“Going into Merthyr, if everybody gets a clean bill of health, I’ll have decisions to make over the starting team, who’s on the bench and which players aren’t going to travel,” he said.

“I’d much prefer that to turning up with only 17 or 18 players. I think there was one point this year when we only had five or six players on the bench.

“We’re in a good moment.

“Normally, when you’re in a good moment, players are desperate to get back fit. It’s maybe a little bit different when you’re losing games, when some might try to hold out a little longer.

“But we’ve got a group who are desperate to get back onto the training pitch.”