MAKING East Cowes Vics a club to be proud of again by bringing the facility up to modern standards is the aim of ambitious new chairman Mark Greenslade — but not before things have improved on the pitch and that their Wessex League status is assured this season.
Football-mad Island businessman, Mark Greenslade, who owns Newport-based Sourced Components, joined the Vics committee two years ago and was voted in as chairman in the summer, sacked Richie Woodburn as boss and replaced him with Alex Smith, a few weeks ago.
A lot has already happened behind the scenes as Alex freshens up a squad low on confidence — third bottom of Division 1, with one win in 17 all season.
Alex may have a baptism of fire when Vics entertain Newport at Beatrice Avenue on Boxing Day, but the outlook is looking rosier as Mark draws up plans to “bring the club up to 21st century standards”, on and off the field.
“As a club, we haven’t progressed and we have got a lot of catching up to do,” said Mark.
“On the pitch, we’ve got to make ourselves a Wessex League outfit and that road started with Alex. I feel like we’ve been hanging on for far too long.
“We are a low budget club. Our funds are limited and we can’t compete with the big boys.
“We can only attract good players if the club has the right profile. Everything at the club needs to be improved massively. We need to change everything.
“My job is to slowly, but surely, provide a better pitch for the youngsters to play on, a pathway for youngsters and their welfare.
“We want to be a fresh, vibrant club... and those things are not Vics.”
Vics will not move away from Beatrice Avenue, Mark states, but once the club stabilises in the Wessex League, there will be a targeted approach to thoroughly upgrading the infrastructure of the club.
“From seating in the stand, the clubhouse and its social side, to the pitch surrounds, training facility and broken fencing, there’s a huge amount to do — but it can’t be done in two months. It’s more likely to be one or two years,” Mark added.
“But first and foremost, we need to get the football side right. If we drop out of the Wessex League, everything changes.
“We can’t afford to do that, so we’re putting all resources this year into making the team one to be proud of, or going in the right direction.
“Over the coming months and years, we will improve every aspect of the club, but we need sponsors onboard.”
Mark said he admires the way Cowes Sports is run and aims to emulate their model of sustainability.
“It’s tight, properly run and they give their players every advantage — and we need to do that, but it can’t be done overnight,” adds Mark.
Sponsorship is key to making his plans a reality, with work going on behind the scenes to try to do that, which they hope would include a renaming of Beatrice Avenue by a major East Cowes company.
“We want to attract the right name — but we’ve got to make Vics attractive to them,” Mark adds.
“There is a genuine mood at Vics to take the club forward, with big strides.”
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