Watch: Local non-league manager's brutally honest post-match verdict is social media sensation

Horndean slumped to a 4-0 defeat at Raynes Park Vale on Saturday, representing a concerning fourth successive defeat.

Invariably boss Michael Birmingham was fuming with his players’ display in the Isthmian League South Central clash - and provided an honest assessment in the club’s post-match video interview.

Pulling no punches, the former Pompey youth-team player’s choice words were afterwards posted as a 69-second clip on Horndean’s X account, formerly known as Twitter.

It has subsequently become a huge social media smash, attracting 735,000 views on X alone, as well as flooding Facebook through a wide variety of accounts.

Viewers have praised Birmingham’s brutal honesty and sense of humour, while others have criticised the actions, accusing the manager of demotivating his players as a consequence.

Nonetheless, the manager who led Horndean to the Wessex League Premier Division title in 2022-23 has established himself as something of a social media celebrity.

In the video, which can be viewed here, Birmingham tells the Horndean interviewer: ‘Yeah I just hope our players have plenty of Sudocrem at home because they’ve had their ar**s slapped today.

‘Fair play to Raynes Park, they were the better side by a mile, best side we’ve played this season, ruthless. I thought the centre-forward up top was absolutely magnificent.

‘I wish I had one of him. At the moment I have four token gestures as centre-forwards. Not even four put together can resemble anything to do with him.

‘So the only positive to come out of that is I had a cracking pasty before the game. That was about it.’

When asked by the interviewer what Horndean needed to change to perform better, he continued: ‘When you concede 13 goals in four games it’s not, Jack. We’ve conceded three goals in three (successive) games and today four.

‘And to be honest, it should have been more today. To me it’s the basics, they wanted it, the second ball, and when they were 3 or 4 up, the desire, the press, they still went and hunted because they’ve got standards. All my lot ‘ain’t got no standards.

‘They don’t give a sh*t, they just turn up and think here we go, we’ll go through the motions today - and they got found out.

‘And do you know what, I hope it hurt them and all, I hope they can’t sit down for a week. And I hope they run out of Sudocrem.’

Horndean handed a debut to former Pompey youngster Harvey Rew in the defeat, having joined on loan from AFC Totton, while ex-Academy product Ethan Robb also featured.

Left-back Rew, who had switched to Jimmy Ball’s Totton in June after three seasons with Gosport, was substituted in the 56th minute, with the scoreline at 1-0.

Regardless of their recent slump, Horndean are far from struggling, currently sitting in 13th spot in the Isthmian League South Central.