IT'S better late than never and it certainly lets everybody know where Kevin Bond stands.

Cherries chairman Jeff Mostyn finally beat down his wall of silence and backed manager Kevin Bond in a statement on the club's official website last night.

And fair play to him because it pulled no punches and it went a long way towards answering many of the questions directed towards the offices of the Fitness First Stadium this week.

But while the speculation may have ended for now, you do get the feeling that this could all have been sorted out on Wednesday - and spared everyone what has been a pretty torrid five days for AFC Bournemouth.

There have been constant phone calls, uncharacteristically aggressive editorials and fiery debate on the newspaper website - and all we wanted was the very same statement Mr Mostyn released last night, to know if Kevin Bond was going to lead the team on to the Dean Court turf on Saturday.

And that's probably exactly what Bond himself wanted, too.

Nobody ever said being a football chairman was easy. When everything is rosy, it's probably one of the most satisfying jobs in the world, but when the mud-slingers limber up, those in power split into two very different types of person - the ones who cower in the corner hoping all the unwanted questions will simply disappear and the ones who come out fighting, show strength behind their decisions and do their best to respond to the fans' fears.

Mr Mostyn has just filed himself in the latter category, but a certain amount of damage has probably already been done.

The chairman and co-owner Steve Sly should have said their piece after Cherries' dismal display in South London last Saturday and while a much-needed victory against Walsall tomorrow will certainly take the heat off further, there will be many Cherries fans unable to forget the catastrophic way the club's owners have dealt with this week's inquisition by the press.

We all hope it won't come to it, but should Cherries still find themselves deep in the relegation mire at Christmas, how will Mr Mostyn deal with the same questions then? Can we expect the bricklayers once again, or will he come out and show some fighting spirit and have the courage of his convictions?

The media were left out of the loop when yesterday's statement was released, with the club opting to use its own website. That outcome was predictable after some of the things that have been written and said this week - even though Mr Mostyn could, and should, have risen above the commentators' opinions.

But at least now he has addressed the fans we can all move on and focus on the thing that really matters - the football.

And this newspaper sincerely hopes to be filling its columns with the prose only a convincing victory can spark come Monday morning's edition.