IT’S TIN POTT IN THIRD TIER

ENGLAND’S Lionesses will today step into the palatial Coventry City Building Society Arena while Stoke Women will do well to avoid stepping onto dog muck and broken glass.

Try telling the Potters side who face Derby at their run-down Emerys Stadium in the National League Northern Premier Division — the third tier of the female game — that women’s football is enjoying a boom.

Stoke might have some of the richest owners in football with the Coates family through their Bet365 empire but there is little evidence that any of their fortune finds its way to the women’s side.

Tweets have appeared illustrating the decaying state of a ground that was once home to a cricket club hosting West Indies greats Garry Sobers and Wes Hall, and in more recent times was the base for non-league Norton United, who have since folded.

Stoke Women now have exclusive use, paying £50,000 a year to rent the ground which has portable cabins as changing rooms.

An insider revealed: “There is mould all down the walls, the toilets don’t always flush and forget the so-called hospitality room when it rains because there are holes in the roof which cause havoc with the electricity.

“The decking is also too dangerous to walk on if it rains because the surface is like ice.” The players have done their best to try to improve their facilities, each year taking it upon themselves to paint and decorate.

A Stoke spokesperson insisted talks are ongoing about the situation, adding: “At the start of the season we doubled our investment in the women’s team.

“But we are aware the general facilities at Norton FC are failing to meet the standards of Stoke City.”