What a 2 years it has been! 2 years ago we were struggling at the bottom of Step 5 and about to go bankrupt. Since then we have won 5 trophies and back to back promotions to Step 3, we have got the youth section thriving with over 30 incredibly successful boys and girls teams, we have professionalised and transformed the commercial offering & operations and we have secured our move to Sixways! People are smiling and we are headed in the right direction.

On the pitch this season felt like a big step up in level from the Hellenic to NPL Midlands Step 4. But the way Chris, his coaching staff, and his players have stepped up – winning a County Cup against higher league opposition, reaching the play offs, then winning the play offs with such hard fought and incredible wins away at Anstey, and culminating in that unforgettable day in Corby - has been immense. Full and proper credit must go to them.

I spoke to Chris yesterday and we both said times like these don’t come around often in football, and when they do we have to ensure we enjoy them, celebrate them, then build on them. As I said 2 years ago, enjoy the climb.
We will work hard over the summer to build on these successes and to prepare for what is to come, as we have to look forward not back. However we have to all force ourselves to take time to enjoy these next couple of weeks and celebrate properly. These celebrations include a private party for the coaching and playing squad today, then our presentation awards night on Sat 17th.

We have a really amazing night planned, tickets are on sale for this now for only £10 and we hope that as many of you as possible will join us to celebrate. The awards night will also be a perfect opportunity to show our appreciation to departing captain and City legend Adam Mace for his incredible achievements in his time with us.

Rapid progress and times like these are the culmination of so much hard work by so many people on and off the pitch. I would like to place on record my gratitude for everyone’s efforts - most importantly of all of course Chris and his team, but also our amazing volunteers, board of directors, youth coaches & committee members, sponsors, and finally the best fans in non-league football. Climaxing in that afternoon in Corby, it felt like everyone was pulling together to roll over whatever was in front of us.

This promotion that the team has secured further vindicates our decision to move to Sixways as we continue to move forward. As we make that move I would like to thank Nicola, Ollie, Paul Loader and all at the WFA for their help and support over the last 5 years at Claines, it saved the club and we have had some great times there. As we move to Sixways we are working hard to ensure that it is as enjoyable and affordable for volunteers and fans as possible. Rob Crean and I are working on a project around this and we will be publishing details for you over the coming weeks.

As a word of caution, we have to also remember that despite our success on and off the pitch, the club is still not yet self-sustainable which has always been my aim, and whilst we don’t own our own ground (still working on it) we are fighting with one hand tied behind our back. We have turned a corner and are headed in the right direction but not there yet.

On the pitch, another step up in level is going to make next year even harder, and in the fickle world of football I don’t doubt after a few loses people will be calling for our heads again! We know Chris and his team will be helped by as many of you supporting them at Sixways as possible. As a club we will all give it a right good go, and out of superstition I’ll say what I said a year ago – we’re not going up there to make up the numbers, we aim to be competitive.

Thank you all once again for your unbelievable support this season. I hope to see as many of you as possible at the awards night, I hope you all enjoy your summer, and then we hope to see you all back at Sixways in July where we have some big exciting teams rolling in to Sixways for pre-season friendlies as we start all over again.

UTC
Simon