Gainsborough Trinity chairman urges community to give their backing to club

Richard Kane and Matt Boles want to see the fans back at Gainsborough Trinity in big numbers.

Kane says Trinity could fold within a year without the backing of the fans.

“We’re looking forward to opening the gates and seeing if we can get that community spirit going again really,” he said.

"When we were last playing properly, we were on a bit of a high. Now we need to try and get people back in through the gates again – that’s the main thing.

“It’s the social aspect I think – its everything around the game – before it, after it, the highs and lows of going to away games and everything else that’s to do with it. It’s everything around the 90-minutes.”

“Rather than spend money on Sky Sports, spend some money at your local football club and support them on a Saturday afternoon.

"Try and keep it in town because in 12-months’ time, if all this continues, we might not be here and that’s the difference.

His views were echoed by Trinity’s club secretary, and lifelong fan, Matt Boles who said backing was crucial for the club’s long-term future.

He said: “It (the football club) is massively important for the town and the wider community. You only have to look at our average home attendance compared to the population of the town and see that percentage, compared to a lot of other places with non-league football.

"Ours is quite high, so you can see where the football club sits within the town – from that point of view, it is massively important.

“It’s also massively important to the town as a whole in terms of the economy. On a match day, the revenue it brings to the town, pubs before the game, the shops – that’s just our fans – and that’s before you bring in the opposition who come in by train and buses.

"We attract not just home fans – fans can come in from Retford, Lincoln, Scunthorpe, Market Rasen - that all contributes to the economy of Gainsborough.

"We are one of the most high-profile things in Gainsborough I would say – so the media coverage we bring in puts Gainsborough on the map.

“We just need fans through the gates once again to be able to survive and get back up to where we want to be as a football club.”