Hampton's McPherson says Beavers are ready for next step (From Surrey Comet)

Hampton's McPherson says Beavers are ready for next step

4:00pm Thursday 14th May 2009 in

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Hampton & Richmond Borough chairman Steve McPherson reckons the fact Thursday’s play-off final defeat attracted a 3,000+ crowd means the Beavers are more than ready to move to the next level.

More than 500 fans were locked out of the ground as boss Alan Devonshire’s men lost 3-2 to Hayes & Yeading to miss out on promotion for the second successive season last week.

The bumper crowd, which forced a delayed kick-off and the last-minute recruitment of security staff, is unliklely to convert into hard cash at Station Road with 50 per cent of the profits heading to the Football Conference and 25 per cent to last week’s visitors.

Hampton have added 20 per cent to their average gates this season and with games against Staines Town and former Blue Square Premier side Woking on the schedule next year, similar improvements are expected over the next 12 months.

McPherson insists the club were ready, both on and off the field, to step-up to the Blue Square Premier having spent £200,000 on ground improvements over the last 18 months.

Confirmed pre-season friendlies with Fulham, Watford, Peterborough United, Wycombe Wanderers, Brentford and Swindon Town will help fill that void as Devonshire bids to mastermind a third Blue Square South title bid.

And the club chairman, who paid tribute to the work of the club’s volunteers in the wake of Thursday’s game, is confident Hampton can gather themselves for a third campaign.

“The most disappointing thing for me is that we were ready for it this time around. We have the infrastructure in place off the pitch and I believe a team on the pitch that can hold its own in the league above,” he said.

“With the resources we have available we have still had a superb season and I’m confident we’ll have the finances to to at least match that achievement.

“It is not going to be easy to attract new sponsors, but the list of pre-season friendlies we have means our name is getting about.

“We weren’t expecting such a large crowd on Thursday and I thought we coped superbly in the circumstances. Gates like that and the success we have had prove we can add another 15 per cent to our gates next year.

“We’ve already spent £200,000 on the ground and the pitch. Now it is done hopefully we can push a bit more of that money into the playing side.”