Worksop Town are 'in best position for 50 years' - says the club's life president

The end of this month will mark a year since Worksop supporters completed their task of raising £30,000 to pay off outstanding debts and preserve the club’s illustrious history.

Tigers fans and the wider footballing community – including help from Peter Crouch, YouTuber Smiv and fans of Norwegian club Egersunds IK – came together to save the club before Pete Whitehead came in as chairman and cleared the rest of the debt.

Ilett recalls how everybody united to keep the club alive, and how a call to Whitehead shaped the future of the club.

“Me, Chris Smith, and Lance [Hardy] talked about what we were doing to do, and we thought ‘where do we go from here?’ and we thought we were sunk,” he admitted.

“I didn’t realise at the time how important the phone call to Pete Whitehead was going to be – that phone call was just unbelievable; without it, we wouldn’t be here.

“Something that still brings a lump to my throat was that I turned up one Saturday, and I walked away from the game with nearly £3,000 from the fans – I could not believe it.

“They were giving me money towards the target, and to say they trusted me with all that had gone off, it got to me.”

Ilett has been involved with the club as an official since 1970, watching his first game as a supporter 65 years ago.

He spoke highly of the Tigers faithful, who have stuck with the club during many dark periods and are now reaping the rewards of the club’s transformation.

“I think the club is now in a better place, and more together, than it has been in the last 50 years,” he continued.

“We have a solid foundation, new facilities and looking ahead, which is opposite to where we were.

“We have gone from bankruptcy to being self-sufficient, and not many clubs have done that in just nine months – I cannot believe how it has panned out.

“I have to thank our fans – more so with what is happening right now – because they have stuck with us through the bad times and they still turn up in their numbers.”