Simon Weaver

THE GAFFER

SIMON WEAVER

Good afternoon and welcome to the EnviroVent Stadium for our match against Carlisle United and also our Fan 'Thank You' Day, which is an opportunity for all of us to celebrate the achievements and progress we’ve made over the last couple of years which supporters have unfortunately missed out on.

2020 and 2021 saw us achieve promotion to the Football League via Wembley, win the FA Trophy at the National Stadium and retain our EFL status at the first attempt. They were all big moments for the club that supporters couldn’t witness in person and that was such shame as the Town fans have been so important to us and continue to be so. Today is about us showing our appreciation to all the fans, whether they’ve been to one home game or every one of our fixtures across the country. To explain what the continued loyalty and backing means to us all is hard to put into words but what I can say is that we wouldn’t have made it this far without you, so thank you to all of you. Following results in the division last weekend, we come into today’s game with our place in League Two guaranteed for next season and that’s an absolutely massive thing for us and so necessary in the first two years of being at this level. We’ve gone to a lot of big grounds with big atmospheres this year and learned a lot from that. We’ve seen some great individual performances and some real team displays which can give us so much optimism going forward, and although I know now with results being how they’ve been it’s harder to reflect and take joy from those achievements, I think we can all be excited for what’s to come. We’re already excited by the plans in place for next season and we’ll sure give it everything we’ve got in our final three games this season. Mathematical safety will take a bit of weight off everyone’s shoulders, and I want the players to really go out there and express themselves on the pitch today. It’s a chance to really get the ball down and play and enjoy what’s left of the season. Once again, thank you for your support this season and enjoy the afternoon. Simon