Workington Town’s interim chairman John Pleasants believes the club has a solid foundation for their return to the Championship.
Pleasants, 67, a lifelong Town fan who played rugby union for Workington Zebras, was given the interim role when Les Smallwood stood down as chairman at the shareholders AGM last month.
“It is going to be a challenge back in the Championship but we did really well last season under a very good coach.
“Although we haven’t gone over the top on recruitment I think we have brought in some good new players to go with the bulk of the squad who did so well under Chris Thorman last season.
“As a club we have a positive bank balance and no debt, and if there is an area where we are short it is the boardroom where we could do with some new blood, possibly some business people with experience in that sphere.
“We have a lot of volunteers at the club who work and graft really hard and for the return to the Championship we are hoping the fans will support us in numbers. They really backed us for the play-off final,” he said.
Pleasants moved away in the 1980s when the Steelworks closed and was employed in Manchester, and then further south, before he returned to his roots four years ago.
“I was invited to get involved at Town so I’ve been on the board for about nine months ago.
“I am getting heavily involved in the new stadium project which is taking up a good bit of time but I’m happy to stay as interim chairman just as long as is necessary,” he says.
Town are back in action on Sunday, January 16 when they will host neighbours Whitehaven in the Ike Southward Memorial Trophy game which returns after the 2021 cancellation through Covid.
