EXILE IS OVER AS ADDERS SLITHER BACK IN

ATHERSTONE Town’s month-long exile from Sheepy Road is over after being granted a fresh council lease.

The Adders got kicked out by landlords North Warwickshire Borough Council on Friday, January 5 – less than 24 hours before a home fixture – when it emerged that the entity that held its lease had been dissolved by former chair Nick Corbett, who left in November.

The club itself is run through a different company and immediately set about getting a new lease but that meant ticking various boxes in relation to maintenance and health and safety work, which the club was always responsible for under the terms of the old deal.

With essential work done, it was signed off this week but current Adders chair Jamie Bursnell acknowledged “there is still work to be done” with a series of council deadlines to be met on the rest of the jobs.

The ‘Return to the Snakepit’ fundraising page on Crowdfunder has yielded more than £2,000 of a £9,000 target to help to pay for various upgrades with Bursnell adding: “We would particularly like to talk to local builders who can help us with ongoing maintenance and repairs.”

It has all been part of a whirlwind start for Adders boss Mitch Thomson, who became the club’s third permanent manager of the season in November.

“It was a hindrance but the meetings we had with the fans and people off the pitch were always positive,” he said.

“It was something we were a bit worried about but thankfully it has moved forward now.

“Everyone prepares to play from home, particularly with the fanbase that we have here at Atherstone. It is no coincidence that we have better results when we are at home.

“We couldn’t train there or do the things we wanted to, we had to use a third of a pitch to train on which was across town and a distance for the lads.

“It was not nice all round but a lot of hard work has gone in to make sure we could come home. Now we want to kick on and give the fans something to shout about.”