“We just need to bounce back,” says Gordon Johnson. "Get back on home soil and we will be okay”.
Gordon, is the Chairman of Skelmersdale United F.C., a club founded 140 years ago, long before the post-war clearing of inner-city slums saw the inhabitants of north Liverpool emigrate en-mass to the sleepy Lancashire town.
Like the families who flocked there in the 1960s, the club has been displaced, and with nowhere else to turn has been playing its home games at the ground of their local rivals Burscough FC.
Problems arose for the club last year when their ground, owned by JMO Sports Park, failed to meet the requirements for artificial pitches set by the FA. With their income slashed and a former manager taking their star players, the club is in a last-ditch fight for survival.
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Gordon told the ECHO: “Historically Burscough and Skelmersdale have a rivalry. It would be like Liverpool having to play at Goodison Park. Because we have not got our own home we are struggling to compete financially at that level. Everything we make in sponsorship is going on ground hire.
“You normally make a profit on home games but we have only made a profit on one this season and that was against Macclesfield as it pulled a big crowd in."
"Attendances are naturally lower at Burscough than they were at the JMO due to fans having to travel more for home games’’.
The club was promoted to the Northern Premier League West, the eighth tier of English football, last season. But after finishing a respectable eleventh they have been relegated after the FA ruled that Burscough’s ground was not up to the standard of the league.
Burscough plays one division below Skelmersdale United, which means that their ground is graded as Step 5 by the FA but to play in the Northern Premier League West it must be graded at Step 4. Skelmersdale United - has now put in £5,000 to help renovate the covered stand at Victoria Park.
Gordon said: "At the moment we have got through this season but we need significant investment to compete next year. We will be playing but the issue will be if we can retain players to compete at the standard we have this year. Ultimately it will come down to paying players.
"The knock-on effect of not having a ground is that you thrive from takings on match days... We haven't got that at all this season."
Like all clubs, its survival means the most to its fans. One such fan is Andrew Bergquist who started attending games with his son Lucas two years ago.
Andrew said: "My son has autism and ADHD. The club has just been so inclusive. The players are just superb with my lad and he just loves going, it is what he looks forward to.
"Burscough have been great and very welcoming, they have helped to keep the club going. If it went I would be devastated. The club has been great for him to be able to talk to the players and coaches. It is what he needs. We are just so passionate about it."
However, hope is not lost and the club is aiming to be playing in Skelmersdale by the start of the 24/25 season. The club's board has been working with Lancashire Council to find land for a new ground.
Gordon said: "The worst-case scenario is it could fold but we have a good group of volunteers behind us who will stop that from happening. Without significant input, from an investor, we are very close.
"We need something to fund the team and we are going to have to pay to hire Burscough's ground for the season. I would be devastated if it folded. But I don’t think we will fold, we may struggle to compete on the pitch depending on how much investment we can generate but we will keep going and hopefully bounce back."
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