Irlam FC have gone about upgrading their ground facilities in a project that their club secretary deems to be ‘essential’.

The improved facilities include, new ground entry fencing, pitch side perimeter fencing and new dugouts.

Irlam FC on Twitter thanked Lee Davies at the Football Foundation, Sports Ground Development, Mann Sports Solution and their very own John Main for making this project happen.

Club Secretary, Warren Dodd, spoke about these new facilities and his excitement for it: “The renewal of the pitch fence was basically essential work that needed doing. The concrete fence that was in position previously was starting to rot, so it was a concrete panel that was becoming dangerous.

“The weight of the panel fencing was too heavy, it would break away and fall down you see. We approached The Football Foundation, who were the basic founders for our club. A club at our level gets a certain amount of budget. The higher up the leagues you go, the higher your budget is.

“So we were successful in getting our project funded by The Football Foundation and that probably took us about six months to be done. Then we had a contractor who was based down South, who works alongside The Football Foundation for different projects.”

Mr Dodd then spoke about the new fence: “As a result of that, over the last two to three weeks, the old fence has been disassembled and the new fence has gone up. The project looks really good.”

“It’s a real boost for the club and it is the best fencing available. We were really fortunate and it will stand us in good stead for many years now.

“It is very sturdy and it’s a steel construction but it is still a light weight construction. Safety is the most important thing. That was something that was starting to become compromised with the old fence.”

Irlam FC fans are also excited about the new facilities and see it as a step in the right direction for the club.

Mark Morrissey, fan of the club, said: “I think its all part of the vison of the club going forward, wanting success on the field generates a desire to improve every aspect that represents the club and what they want.”

Agreeing, Mark Halliwell, another fan, said: “The improvements move the stadium up another level again. The evolution of the club and the stadium is testament to all the hard work done by committee members over many years.

This Saturday sees Irlam host Barnoldswick Town for the first time in their upgraded stadium as their season restarts after over a month without matches.

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