Midland Alliance club Stapenhill will struggle to survive after the fire at their Edge Hill ground earlier in the year.

Chairman Dave Millward has admitted that the club will not be able to bring their ground back up to scratch in time for the start of the Alliance campaign in August.

And next month's 'big' friendly against Burton Albion will almost certainly have to be cancelled as the Swans continue to count the cost of fire damage and vandalism at Edge Hill.

Already rocked by the blaze that devastated the clubhouse in April, officials also face the task of repairs to the changing room area.

Damage estimated at £2,000 has been caused by vandals, who smashed windows, doors, shower cubicles, toilets and wash basins after the fire earlier in the spring. 

Millward admitted: "The fire was bad enough. Now we've got to cope with wanton vandalism by idiots.  We're in turmoil at the moment and I just don't know whether it's possible to get things ready for the start of the football season.  Officials are currently clearing the site after demolition of the blaze-ravaged clubhouse, resulting in mains services being cut off for safety reasons."

Millward added: "We've got plans in hand for a new social club but until we know what sort of insurance money we are going to receive, our hands are tied.  Despite all the problems, we're determined to turn it round, but I have to admit the football side of things is going to be a problem because of the time factor.  I honestly don't know at this stage whether we will be able to start the season. It's all very unfortunate. "We could try to get a groundshare somewhere, but I think that is unlikely because suitable grounds in the area are used every Saturday."

"The only alternative is to see whether we can arrange some sort of temporary measure, such as portacabins, but that would raise other issues.  We're not sure whether that would be acceptable to the league and we would still have the problem of security because the site is unguarded.  We've been in touch with the police and they have promised to keep an eye on the ground for us, but it will still be difficult to keep out the troublemakers."

Stapenhill's head of football, Ian Gough, said: "The situation is totally out of my control because the future of the club rests in the hands of the directors.  The only option appears to be for us to secure a groundshare arrangement, otherwise I fear the football club will fold."

The club, formed in 1947, pulled out of the Alliance six years ago for financial reasons.

The Swans fought their way back through two divisions of the Leicestershire Senior League after re-grouping under the stewardship of Gough, a former manager.

He said: "I will be absolutely gutted if the club has to fold because players have been very loyal since we reformed."

Click here to return to the News page

Website Creator