It would be a tragedy says Yeovil Town boss if club started to slide

YEOVIL Town manager Gary Johnson has said that it would be a “tragedy” to see the club slide back to square one.

Earlier this week a document supporting a planning application to develop the HuishPark stadium site suggested that the club could end up back in non-league football if it did not get the support of South Somerset District Council.

And Johnson, speaking today (Thursdsay, February 27, 2014) ahead of this Saturday’s Sky Bet Championship match at Reading, said it was vital that the club got the backing of the “official side” of the community.

After 108 years of trying to get into the Football League and then taking just ten to gain promotion to the second tier of the English game, Yeovil Town desperately need to improve its finances to sustain its lofty height.

PHOTO - RIGHT: An artist's impression of a proposed food store to be built at Huish Park.

The proposals include building a food store on the northern end of the site and the finance raised from that will then help to develop the stadium into a 10,000 all-seater ground, provide meeting rooms, conference facilities, community areas, offices and new supporter social facilities.

“If we don’t keep improving we will go backwards,” said Johnson. “It would be a tragedy if we went back down into non-league and there would be people who would have to hold their hands up and ask themselves whether they did enough.”

So far the club has not really won too much backing from the council over the development proposals and Johnson, despite admitting he did not know all the “ins and outs” of the situation, said he “didn’t know what the problem is.”

But the club has said that if it fails to win the support of the council – the whole development scheme of the site will nosedive and with it, potentially, Yeovil’s fortunes on the pitch.

Johnson said they needed better facilities at Huish Park to entice “new and better” players to the club and to attract more supporters.

“We need the help of the local council,” he said.

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