MANAGER Wayne Oliver has spoken of his delight after Droitwich Spa secured a new sponsorship deal which will keep the club afloat for the next two years.
Spa, who finished eighth in Midland Football League Division Two, has announced that Droitwich-based MB Insolvency has agreed to invest much-needed funds into the club.
Although things have gone well on the pitch since Mark Owen and Oliver took to the helm last September, the latter revealed it had been a struggle off it.
Oliver said it currently costs £6,000 a year to just get a team out every week, which he admitted the club were finding difficult to cover.
But he told The Standard those problems have been solved after his ‘lifelong’ friend, Mark Bowen, who owns MB Insolvency, agreed to sponsor the side.
“To be perfectly honest, we have struggled financially to see this year out,” Oliver said. “But we have obviously done it and this deal is brilliant news.
“It cost us £250 to put a home game on and when you are playing 20 of those a season it does not take much working out to see how much that sets us back.
“You have then got pitch hire, matchday catering, kit washing, buying new kits and all that sort of stuff, so it costs about £6,000 a year to run a side.
“Ben and Andy Pheasant have done brilliantly, but this deal along with our continued support from Wychavon Leisure will put us on secure ground for the next couple of years.”
Although Oliver insisted he would not be using the money to pay players, Droitwich’s joint boss said he would be looking to increase his squad in the summer.
“We are hoping to retain most of the players from last season and we have got one or two names which we will have a look at in pre-season,” he said.
“We have got a squad of 16 at the moment, but we will be looking to increase that to 20.
“We have already spoken to a couple of players and explained our situation, so it is all in the mix at the moment.”
Oliver said he was also hopeful of retaining the services of Worcester City academy aces James Lemon and Macauley Finch, who made a big impact when they arrived on loan.
“Worcester will be looking at them for the coming season, but they are happy for them to play for us if they are not involved, so we are happy with that,” Oliver added.
