I would like to thank Kevin Newell and his team for all their support over recent months, which has enabled me to successfully take control of Burgess Hill Town Football Club. On behalf of the club, I would like to thank Kevin for the many years of service he has given. Under Kevin’s leadership, the club has achieved some of the most successful seasons in its history, and we thank him for this. I am pleased to confirm that Kevin has agreed to stay on as non-executive Chairman and I have no doubt he will remain a key guide for us as we navigate our relationship and duties with the Isthmian League.

Acknowledgement and thanks must also be given to the club’s outgoing Director and General Manager, John Rattle, who has played an integral part in supporting Kevin and the football club in his time here.

My vision for the football club is centred around nurturing growth off the pitch to enable growth on the pitch. This will be achieved by transforming the club into a true community hub, an inspirational beacon of positivity for both local people and businesses. Offering and providing community services and events all year round will allow us to enrich the community and support local businesses grow through mutually beneficial partnerships.

By driving success off the pitch and focussing on doing good for our community, we will be able to create sustainable growth on the pitch, with all profits generated by off pitch activity being reinvested in the growth of the club. We have a clear ambition to play football at the highest standard possible, befitting our amazing fanbase, volunteers and staff.

Alongside the work of planning transformational growth for the club, my team and I will immediately support Jay Lovett and our first team squad convert our competitive performances into wins and ongoing success. The design of our future football strategy will not deter us from our focus to finish the second half of the season with as many points as possible.

I am very much looking forward to meeting our supporter groups, volunteers, stakeholders from our community, the Mid Sussex District Council, and other local organisations in the weeks and months to come. I intend to listen carefully to their opinions and concerns and fully understand the significance of the club to them currently and how it can play a more significant role in the future. I will utilise my professional experience in leadership and creating high performance cultures and building cohesive teams to create common goals and work tirelessly to achieve them.

We already have one of the biggest and most successful junior sections for boys and girls’ football, which will continue to be separately managed by a dedicated, talented committee group. We have also partnered with Infinity 8 Fitness and Michelle Duggan-Palmer Wellbeing, to open The HuddL, a wellbeing centre that actively supports families from Mid-Sussex and the South Coast needing assistance and wellbeing resources. In addition, we have several other community-focussed initiatives already live, including our men and women’s teams at Athletico Burgess Hill Football Club, BobCats over 30s football training (for men and for women) and our Stopper Squad academy, dedicated to training young goalkeepers.

Finally, I’d like to add that taking over Burgess Hill Town FC is an absolute honour and proud moment for me and for my family. It comes with huge responsibility as well as tremendous excitement. The most thrilling aspect for me personally is the chance to play an active role in making our players, staff, our wonderful fans, and our town proud of what the club is and the potential it has to generate positivity for the whole community. I will be sharing more specific plans in the coming weeks; in the meantime I am looking forward to our next game on Saturday!

See you soon and take care.

Vince