ROBINS GET THE GREEN LIGHT
MARC NASH believes North Shields have been a victim of their own success after having to call on the Football Association to help them preserve their Step 4 status.
The Robins are currently awaiting a response from the governing body after revealing they had belatedly raised funds to help bring their Daren Persson Stadium home up to standard after a previous appeal failed.
After securing promotion into the Northern Premier League East Division last season, the north east outfit had looked to raise up to £50,000 to upgrade their home ground and bring it in line with Step 4 criteria.
However, when their attempts fell short there were genuine fears the 2015 FA Vase winners could be forcibly relegated back into the Northern League for next season.
The Robins confirmed they had raised the necessary funds to complete the upgrades and have now informed the FA’s inspection team that work will get underway, despite missing the March 31 deadline.
With North Shields now awaiting a response, manager Nash has called on the governing body to show “support and understanding” and warned other newly-promoted clubs could find themselves in similar positions in the near future.
“The critical part of everything here is the Football Association’s decision,” Nash told The NLP. “We aren’t wanting ridiculous favours, we need the FA to deal with this on an individual basis and not see these things as black and white.
“This could be a common scenario going forward if clubs are being forcibly promoted, you need more time because more will be like us.
“What we are asking isn’t unfair, but the problem is the timeframes involved after promotion. Travel costs go up significantly, your playing budget goes up because, despite our budget being the second lowest in the league, you can’t expect lads to commit to further travelling without some increase.
“Plus crowds have gone down because you don’t have as big an away support in this league. It was like an imperfect storm, we don’t have a big backer, and it was all too much.
“What I find most annoying is we have been a victim of own success. We need leeway, we need their support and understanding and it’s now all down to them.”
Concerns off the field, however, are not shared on it with Nash having led the Robins to just outside the play-off places after a much-improved recent run of form.
“We had a tough run but the lads have turned it around brilliantly,” he said. “I think we have third best defence in the league. We had a mean defence last year but we’ve kept a solid foundation.
“We feel at home at this level, we have made new friends, we like the challenge and we want to continue.”