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Question: If Gresley gets into a position to be promoted, is the Moat Ground good enough?

Mark Evans (ME): The honest answer is we don't know. When the FA started the process of consultation with the clubs on which option they preferred in the re-organisation most clubs preferred option 'C'. Then the FA said they would go with option 'D' which was to maintain the status quo. At that time the FA said they would bring in a rule that grounds would not need to be improved immediately to the new grading and that clubs would be given a period of time to bring the grounds up to the grading required. The FA is still to officially say that is the case.

Now that the FA have chosen to go with option 'C' since the Conference went ahead and did what they did it does give us some concerns.

Gresley are in a bit of a 'Catch 22' situation. There is very little scope to increase the capacity of the Moat ground, because we are landlocked, without significant investment.

We are at present in the middle of negotiating the purchase of the Moat Ground, which will, when complete, immediately create the next stage in the process of moving. Therefore, our willingness to spend money here is not a high priority because we'd rather spend it on the new ground.

We have, however, discussed this issue with the people who are providing the finance to acquire the Moat Ground to see if there would be anything they could do to help if it proved necessary so as not to lessen Gresley's progress in footballing terms.

As the season progresses and hopefully our league table position progresses in the right direction then we would have to seek urgent meetings with our league and FA.

I have recently notified the FA finance unit with a view of involving them on the financial transaction of purchasing the Moat Ground because we don't want heads-in-the-sand, we want to face up to the realities.

We would inform the league that it is our intention to move, we would have plans drawn up for the new ground along with the time scales involved and then try and get them to understand the ludicrous situation of us being asked to spend money on the Moat Ground and see how they react.

It doesn't need a mathematician to see that no clubs in our present league get close to the capacity requirements.

It was said by a former league official that the capacity requirements were too high but he is no longer involved.

It may mean that we have to look at a ground share for a season to facilitate us moving up while we work on the new ground.

Q. How high do we have to finish this season to be automatically promoted?

ME: I've read it is the top 7. However, there will be conditions attached such as financial compliance etc.

Q. The club has to travel a fair distance for games now. If we were to go up to a higher league, what are your views on the possible increase in travelling distances and the extra finances involved?

ME: I will go on record to say it does concern me. I have spoken to other chairmen I've met this season about it.

Our league's proposal to fit in with the FA's decision regarding the top x number of clubs promoted has caused some clubs with money, and indeed some without money, to throw everything that they've got at their sides to ensure they go up.

What concerns me is that the clubs that go up have got to make sure they can stay up and financially afford to maintain their new league status. Those that don't go up or find during the season that they can't go up will have to slash their budgets because of it.

I know of clubs in our league whose weekly budgets are very large and the promise of promotion makes it exciting to do that. But when the day arrives that they see that they are not going up they will have a problem.

The board of Gresley Rovers made the decision that we are not going to throw money at the situation, primarily because we have not got it. We have a budget and we are sticking to it. The new players we've brought in recently are within that budget. Yes, the travel does concern us because of the expense and they are going to increase this season.

Originally the FA's decision to take option 'D' included regionalising the leagues. We were given a draught version of what our league would have looked like. We'd still be travelling to Taunton with teams in the Oxford area still in the Rymans. That to me did not make sense.

Travel is a concern this season and still would be if we went up. After saying that, I and the vice chairman have told our directors that come the day Gresley has it's new ground - and it will happen - we are then talking a whole new ball game.

The new ground will include a hall and a new social club with other facilities etc that will bring in further revenue into the club.