THACKLEY chairman Phil Woollias is delighted to be surrounded by experts as he seeks a positive future for the club.

The clubhouse at Dennyfield has recently had a secure new roof and Thackley are on the verge of unveiling a new initiative to provide more girls' and women's football, both thanks to people closely associated with the club.

Woollias said: "We have had a great committee down the years and the likes of Mike Smith, Geoff Scott, Steve Paley, Richard Paley and Eddie Williams have worked really hard – especially when the club fell on hard times in recent years.

"No-one worked harder that Stuart Willingham and his wife June, who have been the welcoming face of Thackley and have led the way in building a great reputation for the club.

"Stuart and June set the standards that the rest of us have followed. The club is known throughout non-League circles as one of the most hospitable and when people think of Thackley they immediately think of Stuart and June."

The other volunteers – like Woollias himself, who is not only chairman but also coach of one of the junior age groups – continue to ensure the club remain at the heart of the local community.

"The new roof was needed so that we could continue to offer what we do and one of our former players, Luke Hudson, is managing that project," said Woollias.

"Luke has played an absolute blinder, to be honest, and brought it in on a budget price, so 'mates rates' have saved us some money there.

"We're looking to start an open age women's team and my wife Michelle is heading up that project for us.

"She is a development coach at Leeds United for their girls' teams and she helps the players progress, so we're looking for her to do that here and hopefully help local girls and women to progress to higher levels in the game."