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"Today's announcement is important and I always said that I would try and keep the supporters informed as Gresley Rovers Football club proceeds with the very various tasks we have ahead of us.

"We have now come to the situation where we've not only agreed the terms on which we can purchase of the Moat Ground but have also agreed the terms on which we will raise the appropriate finances to do so.

"That has been done. It is subject to contract but all parties are happy with the announcement being made today. Over the next few weeks we will be looking to sign those contracts.

"It is an important announcement for the supporters of this club who have been very patient both on and off the field. It is also important for Gresley as it moves forward both in terms of it's desire to move up the contributory league structure but also because it wants to wrestle with the financial burdens that it imposed upon itself several years ago. We want to be able to control the one asset that we have, the Moat Ground, so to take legal title of the ground is a big moment in Gresley's history.

"It doesn't mean, however, that the battle is over we've still got a lot of work to do. We have still got tight budgets and we still have to watch what we spend.

"Having a new facility with all the things that that will bring to the club, a new social club and areas where we will be able to run 'off-pitch' functions 24 x 7 will give Gresley an opportunity to raise those finances that it will need as it wishes to develop and progress up the contributory league.

"There is a plot of land that has been deemed as Gresley's intended destination and I would probably suggest that it still remains favourite. There are others sites in and around the district that we would look at. We need to have discussions with the district council, local councillors and the community at large as this is a big event for the village of Church Gresley and we would want to enter into a dialogue.

"We always felt it important to have a plan, a progression in mind. The club has done so much in its history and has a glorious past but we are always conscious of the present and the tomorrow and that includes both on and off the field. We are looking to develop players from the Youth Team and the Reserves. We have brought in a Junior section that has done fantastically in excess of ten teams and now a Soccer School. So, we are confident that we are looking after and taking care of the development of an individual through the football club. We have a great manager with great backup staff of Alan and Steve and they are looking out all the time for new prospects to bring to the Moat Ground as well as developing those already here.

"It's the board's job, the supporters and the many volunteers to continue the hard work off the pitch to make sure we have the funds available. We have a succession plan, which I think is important for Gresley, which has been in force and has been worked ever since John McGinlay took up his post as manager here. Each stage that we take is some way along that road of succession.

"At this half-way stage in the season I can say that I'm very happy; happy with the players and the management team. The management know that I'm a patient man and that the board is very patient. We know what we want to achieve and Gary knows what he wants to achieve and that is something that both he and I share. So I'm more than happy. There is a great spirit in the first team as well as the reserves, the youth team and the juniors. It's a very nice football club and I'm very proud and privileged to be chairman of it."