Blyth Spartans chairman Kevin Miles issues community rallying call ahead of Ilkeston Town clash

Blyth Spartans chairman Kevin Miles is determined to improve the fortunes at Croft Park - and called on the local community to play a part in what he believes will be a long-term project.

After enduring a challenging time on and off the pitch in the early months of the season, a community-led takeover of the Northern Premier League club in November raised hopes of an immediate turnaround. However, as it stands on the pitch, Michael Connor’s side remain anchored to the bottom of the Premier Division table and a second consecutive relegation appears increasingly inevitable.

Yet the bigger picture, as set out in a quarterly report released by the Spartans board earlier this month, remains on ensuring the club’s long-term future is secure, rather than which league the club will operate in next season.

For Miles, who is also the chief executive of the Football Supporters Association, heading up a community-led club was not on his agenda and he admitted Spartans were the only club he would have considered taking up such a role. The hard work has already got underway to put in place a structure behind the scenes that pushes the club towards long-term sustainability and away from the uncertainty that has clouded Croft Park in recent years.

Speaking ahead of Saturday’s home game with Ilkeston Town, Miles admitted the current Spartans board are having to undertake a reset of the club and urged supporters and the local community to rally behind their attempts ensure Spartans remain alive for generations to come.

He told The Gazette: “We have some great examples to look at and obviously I have the benefit of working for the Football Supporters Association. They have worked with some great examples of community or supporter-owned clubs across the football pyramid. We have gone to some of them for advice and experience and to share the learning. FC United of Manchester for example, there are differences, they started with a bigger membership and they have built up.

“But they have built the club and that can inspire us. We have to remember they have just celebrated their 20-year anniversary so it’s a long-term project for us. We need the local community to get behind what we are trying to achieve and although we know things are tough at the moment, we need supporters and the town to keep with us and help us move things forward. We can bring a lot to the community as a football club - but we also know the community can and hopefully will bring us a lot to improve what is going on.”

As revealed in their quarterly report, Spartans are attempting to plug a gap of over £100,000 between now and the end of the season and have launched a GoFundMe page which can be found here.

On the pitch, Spartans are awaiting news on the fitness of on-loan Huddersfield Town goalkeeper Alex Walpole before finalising their plans for Saturday’s game with Ilkeston. Nicky Deverdics could return to the starting lineup after coming off the bench in last weekend’s 5-1 defeat at Gainsborough Trinity.

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