AS we enter the month of April, it’s amazing to think how far the club has come in the past 12 months even if that hasn’t translated to success on this pitch. This season, we head into the final month of the season reasonably safe in the knowledge that we’ve secured our place for next season and as such the planning process has begun. Last April, events off the pitch overtook any idea of planning and even threatened the existence of the club.

This time last year, Seatgate rearing its ugly head. The reality of the problem was becoming clearer by the day. It felt like the club had been slammed into a wall and at the time nobody really knew how to move on from it. Meanwhile, our former manager saw it as the perfect opportunity to attempt a coup with Raj Singh as his money man. Talk about a dramatic month. For all of the fatalistic talk and introspective thinking, the events of April last year were probably a blessing in disguise. The whole debacle brought about a conversation that had to happen where we, as owners, needed to redefine the direction of our football club. Twelve months on, I think the direction chosen has proved to be the right one.

For transparency, I was initially open to the idea of an individual coming in to invest in the club and run it. Like almost the entire fan base, I wasn’t keen on Raj Singh being that person. The reason for my openness to the idea was the need for some drive and leadership off the pitch to take the club to a new professional level. As it turned out David Johnston was brought in to the club and I don’t think we’ve looked back since. Having a paid professional helping to shape the club off the pitch has provided some real stability. With volunteers in that role, there is no guarantee they can commit for the two years that Johnston initially promised. Personal circumstances change quickly and the high turnover of directors since 2012 hampered the club’s progression off the pitch.

With the drive and leadership secured, the other issue was funding. A money man would have brought in the resources to help the club develop. Although as a fan base we don’t have the sort of wealth that an individual like Singh could offer, since last April we have raised a phenomenal amount of money and, most importantly, it has not come with the sort of strings attached that an outside investor might have placed on the money provided. While it might take longer to get where we want to be as a club, we’ll get there eventually in a more sustainable and organic manner. It’s a footballing version of the tortoise and the hare. As we move forward we might be overtaken by clubs who are fortunate enough to have a generous benefactor, but as most eventually find out, usually when they get to the National League, clubs nearly always regress to their norm eventually.

With the ground developed, a new academy in the pipeline and a more sustainable approach to first team funding, there is a lot of credit due to all those involved in running the club as well as the fans for being so willing to dig deep to provide the financial support. Compared to the likes of Hartlepool United and York City, we look relatively stable. That’s something most wouldn’t have predicted last April. A year ago some might have considered us a laughing stock but that is now far from the reality.