Larne Chairman Gareth Clements pens letter to all club supporters

It has been really tough on us all as individuals but also as a collective of Larne supporters.

The void of having no camaraderie through football has been felt far and wide.

Although we are all missing football, the health and wellbeing of our players, supporters and staff comes first and I hope that you, your family and friends have coped well during this unprecedented period of our lives.

We are in no way safe from this virus yet, but we are finally starting to see an easing of lockdown, and a return to some semblance of normality.

We can see this with our shops reopening and dates being set for our cafes, bars, hotels and restaurants to follow suit.

These have been trying times economically, for both local businesses and the football club alike.

However, we are a resilient bunch and, like most of our commercial partners in the town, we are looking forward to embracing the challenges that recovery will bring.

Our Larne FC recovery plan has been kick-started with the decision by the IFA to curtail the 2019/20 season.

We now eagerly await a date to commence the 2020/21 season, allowing us to ramp up our preparations, both on and off the pitch, and start executing some of our vision going forward.

The exciting plans that we have for the club may have been delayed by the pandemic, but they certainly have not been derailed.

We remain strong in our belief that we have a team capable of challenging at the upper echelons of the league and in every cup competition.

We plan to strengthen Tiernan’s hand in the upcoming transfer window; we will do this however in line with our budgets; our plan from the outset has been to grow with stability and to lose sight of this post Covid-19 would be reckless.

We also continue with our planning to deliver first-class facilities at Inver Park and, as such, are currently working on the erection of a new, permanent television gantry at the riverside of the stadium.

We are also building a fantastic recreation and office facility for the players and management, on the site of the original dressing room building, and are redeveloping the current dressing rooms to bring them up to European standard in advance of the new season.

As part of these works, preparation will resume toward the building of the Church End Stand.

We have really exciting plans afoot to develop the Academy side of the club. Some of these are at a very advanced stage and we hope to make some announcements in this area soon.

We are also working on a much larger project at youth level, that we believe will be game changing for the town when it comes to fruition; watch this space.

Post Covid-19 will see changes to Inver Park, some of which may well become the ‘new normal’.

Partitions, social distancing, face masks, a sterile bar area and cashless transactions are all part and parcel of the new guidelines that we must adhere to.

However, we will make these changes in a safe, secure and as unobtrusive a way as possible for you, our guests.

Our planning to extend the 1889 facility into the fan zone, with the addition of a kitchen and food offering continues apace.

We are keen to progress this work upon planning applications being passed and this will certainly add to the social offering that having the 1889 Club has afforded us.

Before concluding, our positive work in the local community will continue.

During the lockdown and since, the community outreach of our first team players and ladies has been very well received and this will be taken forward, within schools and community groups once normality returns.

We helped where we could from the Glens to the Glynn, supporting initiatives alongside the groups in Antiville, Dixon Park, Factory Community, Craigyhill, Glynn, Millbrook, Harbour, Cairncastle, Ballygally, Seacourt, Carnlough and Glenarm, as well as supporting Larne Foodbank and St John’s Ambulance.

Our Brighter Futures charity has concluded its first round of funding allocations and is currently in the midst of progressing these offers with the successful applicants.

The charity will continue to grow and prosper in its work, supporting individuals and businesses to flourish in the fields of sport, education and entrepreneurship.

Finally, can I thank you our wonderful supporters, sponsors and commercial partners for your unwavering support.

We are putting our best foot forward coming out of this, and more than ever we need you to be behind us.

A strong, vibrant, healthy football club, at the heart of everything good in our town, is what we are building.

This has, and will again, bring social, commercial and health and wellbeing benefits to the town.

We need to stay united, shop and trade local and, most importantly, rally together to put much needed smiles back on the faces of our community.

We really are ‘Stronger Together’ so let’s do this…

Gareth Clements

Chairman

Larne Football Club