Dorking Wanderers manager and owner Marc White has defended his furious half-time rant at his players, which went viral after being captured on camera. White flipped a dressing room table and swore at his squad during Tuesday night's National League South clash with Hemel Hempstead.
Rant Caught on Camera
Trailing 2-1 at Meadowbank, White stormed into the dressing room and tipped over the table in the middle of the room. Some players jumped as fruit and kit came flying at them. White then swore 38 times as he tore through the team and ordered his players back out onto the pitch early.
The outburst was filmed as part of the Bunch Of Amateurs channel, which has documented White's touchline antics for around seven years. Speaking exclusively to Daily Star Sport, White expressed surprise at the reaction to the incident.
White Defends His Methods
“It surprises me some people these days. There is a modern era to football whereby people don't quite know what's really going on, because it's a little bit like the Premier League's a bit glitzy,” White said.
“But anyone involved in the game knows that what happened on Tuesday, it might not happen every week, but it certainly happens around the game on a regular basis, but the luxury at Dorking is that because we've got a Bunch Of Amateurs filming it, people get to see it.”
White added: “So, one of those things really. Cameras have been around us for maybe seven years, I don't even think about them, to be honest, ever. But yeah, I was definitely more angry than normal.”
Team Response and Next Steps
Dorking salvaged a point in the second half as Dawid Rogalski and a late Alfie Rutherford equaliser secured a 3-3 draw. The Wanderers are now full-time and have trained since, allowing White and his players to move on with the club sitting 9th, two points outside the play-offs, before hosting Weston-super-Mare on Saturday.
“We put a lot of time and effort into what we do, but also our boys are full-time, so the stakes are high, the standards are high and sometimes you have to remind them in a different way. That wouldn't be the norm, but for that reason they'll probably respond to that,” White said.
“I think I try to encourage this culture that says, take responsibility, and if you're wrong, put your hand up really quickly, and I do that myself all the time and therefore the players are encouraged to sort of take ownership as well. I think it's the best environment you could ever be in.”
“And it's a bit like the old adage, like the rugby players who kick the s*** out of each other and shake hands on the way off. Certain sports, performance-based, come with tension, come with all of that, and you have to learn how to leave it behind you.”
