Fleetwood Town chairman will not rest on his laurels

It’s just over four years since the club’s Thornton base was opened by Sir Alex Ferguson, comprising top-class grass, 4G and five-a-side pitches for Town’s players and the wider community, as well as state-of-the-art gym and physiotherapy equipment.

Plans are in place to improve facilities further, though the coronavirus crisis has slowed that progress.

Pilley told The Gazette: “We’re ahead of the game with virtually everyone in League One. I don’t think anyone has got anything comparable to Poolfoot in League One.

“However, what we don’t do as a football club is stand still and we are constantly planning to improve the facilities. The job is never done, we want to make them better.

“The Covid-19 crisis may have delayed somewhat the plans we had in place but we will – at some point in the future, when we get a degree of normality – be looking at further improving what we already have.”

Town’s facilities don’t only help the club to attract players but also serve their goal of turning young homegrown players into senior stars.

Pilley added: “It’s always been our long-term strategy to develop players. That’s why we have invested so heavily in Poolfoot Farm.

“We have got some real rising stars within the academy and it’s inevitable that they will find their way through to the first team.

“That will help us balance the books, and if we can be that stepping stone for them to go on to the Premier League, then that’s very much mission accomplished.”