A FOOTBALL CLUB kicked off the new season by unveiling a £40k upgrade to the facilities at its ground.

Daisy Hill FC has made repairs to the surface of the car park and walkways around the clubhouse at their New Sirs home.

And the club has also created a number of new disabled parking spaces, as well as repairing walkways around the perimeter of their pitch.

Club secretary Bob Naylor, chairman Graham Fellows, Westhoughton councillor David Chadwick and Iain Kay, Lancashire FA’S football development manager, were at the ground to officially open the new car park ahead of the club’s first game with Abbey Hulton United.

The work was made possible in part thanks to a £20k grant from the Premier League, delivered by the Football Stadia Improvement Fund – the largest funders of non-league football in the country.

And the other half of the funding was provided by waste management firm Viridor’s small grants for community projects.

The club applied for the cash after an FA report two years ago said a path leading to their junior pitches should be improved for reasons of player safety.

The funding applications were put it about 18 months ago and the work was carried out by in March and April of this year.

Secretary Bob Naylor said: “The report said it has to be a bound surface and not have any loose stony items that can be thrown at players, that was the basis of it.

“In the short term we had to put a fence up to stop that risk.

“We decided to get funding and make a bound surface and get it tarmacked. And with the state the car park was in we thought we might has as well try to get funding to do the lot.”

It is hoped the upgrade will hope the North West Counties League Division One club to attract new fans and retain its loyal supporters

And Mr Naylor said the work was already proving a hit with fans and visitors to the ground.

He said: “There seem to be more people using the car park now. There was a certain element that said they wouldn’t take their car on the car park because it was that bad.”

“It means continuity and it means hopefully attracting more people who hopefully will come again instead of saying ‘we’re not going there again’

“It’s a safe, secure, environmentally friendly and aesthetically pleasing environment now.”

Club chairman Graham Fellows said it was a ‘fantastic’ upgrade and the latest of a string of improvements carried out at the ground over the past decade.

He said: “Over the last ten years we’ve had the floodlights done, the pitch done, we have have got seating in from the Aqua centre at the Olympic Games for free and had our dressing rooms done.

“We are trying to progress all the time and now we’ve had the car park put down. We are progressing slowly but surely and we hope people who come down here will enjoy it.”

“It’s a step forward, and we are always trying to progress as a club. It’s on going but we are getting there and we’re glad of the support of the Football Stadia Improvement Fund (FSIF), and Viridor.

“It’s hard to find money and to raise money but the ground is better than it was five years ago and the car park is a lot better than it was six months ago!”

Councillor David Chadwick also hailed the latest upgrade to the ground.

“I’m happy to support any local sports club. I have an association with this football club. I refereed here many years ago, and It’s just wonderful they have so many teams and bring so many players through. It’s brilliant for Westhoughton.”