BRIGHOUSE Town Women’s manager Rob Mitchell has insisted that the timing was right for his team to cut ties with the men’s club.

It was recently confirmed that, after ten years, the women’s team would be calling an end to their association with Brighouse Town Football Club; meaning that they will no longer play fixtures at the Yorkshire Payments Stadium.

The decision to pull away from the football club was made by those at Brighouse Town Women, including Mitchell, and they will now play their matches at Eccleshill United for the foreseeable future.

Discussing the club’s reasoning behind the decision, Mitchell said: “First things first, we had an amazing ten years at the home of Brighouse Town. Yes, there can be disagreements along the way but that happens when you're part of a family, and we were part of the Brighouse Town family. There's no hard feelings between me and the club. We left on good terms and we as a club made the decision to move on for our own good.

"The ten years we spent under the Brighouse Town Football Club name, that gave us great exposure and it allowed us to propel to where we are today. So for that, we will be forever grateful."

Mitchell added: "The club allowed us to use their base, and it's a base that is of such quality. Having a base of that quality allowed us to grow as a women's football club, it allowed us to attract good players and it also helped us to develop players. That growth has meant that we we needed to make change.

"We are now competing with some of the best teams in the country and they all have fantastic facilities. It's imperative that we can adapt to any given situation because you will fall behind quickly if the quality isn't there in this league.

"It can be really tough trying to compete with those teams, especially if you have a facility that you don't have full autonomy over, which we didn't at Brighouse because the men's team does come first at most football teams. We often had a cloud over our heads on where we could train and where we could play. There's nothing we could do about it, that's life. So, while we could, we made the decision to move on and go separate ways with the football club."

Mitchell's side, who still own the right to be called Brighouse Town Women, are currently training at Calderdale College, while they play their fixtures at Eccleshill United.

Discussing his side's plans for the rest of the campaign, Mitchell said: "I feel we need to continue doing what we've always done, but with a slightly different approach. We've got excellent training facilities at Calderdale College where we've got access to the 3G pitch, the gym and the dance studio. Could we run a junior section from there? Perhaps, but it's a discussion that we need to have.

"Eccleshill are allowing us to use their ground for matchdays, so that's great because they also have fantastic facilities. For me now, I feel we need to focus on the football and ensure we retain our Tier Three status, that's what is most important."