Ilkeston Town chairman Mark Clifford hails progress at club

Clifford hailed the progress made at the club over the last 12 months and the quality of people who have come in on and off the pitch.

But he admitted the developments had also come with sad moments due to the impact of coronavirus.

“It has been a whirlwind year at the club since we took over,” he said during an interview on Notts TV.

“So far this season it's been excellent with the guys who came in.

“The club is in a really good place and it's a shame we have had to have a break.

“It's been difficult with COVID-19 and we need to make sure when people come to our facility that they are safe.

“We think the government got it wrong at the start and did not let us have the right amount of fans in.

“We feel we could have 900 in there really safely.

“I think the fans have enjoyed the season and are just glad that football is back.

“But it is sad for the fans that they are missing important times for the club.

“We feel if the restrictions had not in place we would have got 2,500 in for the Hartlepool FA Cup match, we did not get enough people in for that game.

“We want the club to get promoted and to grow up the pyramid. We feel we have the squad and management in place to get out of the league.

“Once we get out of the league then we will plan to get out of the next one.”

Town boss Martin Carruthers added he was desperate to get the club promoted and knows the fans will have a big part to play.

“It is a big responsibility,” he said. “This is a big football club and they deserve to be higher.

“The fan base is incredible and the fact that we can’t fill the ground because of restrictions is sad.

“Our pre-season wasn't great but as soon as we had fans in we saw an improvement in results and the fans were a big factor in that.

“They are massive for us, not just financially for the players as well.

“The team is strong and we are just preparing as best we can for a restart.”