Bournemouth's controversial chairman, Eddie Mitchell, is likely to face sanctions after his club's stewards had to prevent him confronting home fans following their 3-0 defeat to Chesterfield.

The incident came just days after Mitchell issued a public apology for telling critics at a fans forum that those who disagreed with his management style should "go and support Southampton".

Mitchell has been the focus of fans' anger since selling the bulk of the side that reached last season's League One play-off semi-final. The defeat to Chesterfield was their fifth in a row, leaving them second from bottom of the table.

After the final whistle, Mitchell entered the field in an apparent attempt to reason with hostile fans, but stewards intervened after he appeared to beckon several on to the pitch.

Mitchell then returned with a microphone to address the crowd. His comments, recorded by the BBC, included an invitation for "the lad in the leather jacket whose eyes seem to be popping out of his head – why don't you jump over the fence and come and have a chat with me? Come on then. One to one?"

At last week's forum, Mitchell had rejected criticism from those unhappy with his approach since he took over in 2009, telling the audience: "The club has to be built from the bottom upwards, that is how I am going to build it. If you don't like it go and support Southampton".

The negative atmosphere extended to yesterday's match, despite Mitchell having made a public apology before the game to "the 95% of our fans who are fantastic and understand that we have to take a step back to take two steps forward."

Mitchell explained to The Independent last week that he had felt increasingly frustrated by insinuations that he was making money from the club.

"I've not taken a penny. I even pay for all my coffees and food. My son [Tom, who is on the board] has paid the wages when there's been a cashflow shortage. I do 40 hours a week and it has put great strain on me. I am going to snap if people make insinuations that are not true."

Mitchell said the club could not afford to spend money in the way fans demanded. "If more cash goes out than we bring in we are in trouble. It would be irresponsible to spend more. The club's already had two receiverships: I'm not going to jeopardise its future after working so hard."