Chief executive officer David Johnston updates us on the latest happenings at DFC.

Hello, everyone, I hope you’re all enjoying the summer break.

There might not be much public activity from the club at the moment, but on the contrary there is quite a lot happening behind the scenes regarding matters on and off the field.

On the field, pre-season training for the first team squad commences on Tuesday at East Durham College, and Martin will be commencing the first session with a presentation to all the players, and talking about what he expects from them this season.

I will also be introducing myself to them, reinforcing what Martin has also said, and talking about the club’s future plans.

It’s great that the vast majority of players, who helped the club finish fifth last season, have stayed on and hopefully we’ll finish in a much higher position and clinch promotion to the National League. I would also like to welcome new signing Dominic Collins to the club, I’m sure that he’ll settle in well. I’m sure that everyone is looking forward to seeing the lads in the pre-season friendlies.

There have been all sorts happening off the field. We have been working on the club’s current financial position, and also developing various scenarios to help us exploit a sustainable future – we’ll be able to tell you more in the next few weeks.

We are all looking ahead to a successful season, and everyone is in no doubt that the Vanarama National League North will be very competitive, especially as there are going to be several local derbies to look forward to against Blyth, Spennymoor, York City, Harrogate Town, and games just slightly further afield against North Ferriby and Bradford Park Avenue. I’m sure that all Darlington fans will turn out in force, no matter where we’re playing. Like you, I’m looking forward to the release of the fixtures on 5^th July -- we have asked the league to be given an away game on the first day of the season (5^th August) to give the new Blackwell Meadows pitch a few more days to mature. Hopefully the weather will be kind to it.

Remedial work has also begun at Blackwell Meadows on a couple of aspects of the first phase of construction (which shouldn’t take long) and next week work starts on laying the foundations for the second phase of building. We must thank the Darlington FC Supporters group for their efforts in providing the finance for this.

Increasing our sponsorship revenue is also a high priority. As part of our sponsorship strategy, I have had meetings with Virgin East Coast – who have been a very good sponsor so far – and we are looking to attract more local companies to back the club.

As you can see, it’s quite a busy time! Several people warned me that being part of Darlington FC is a seven day a week job – and they were right. There is so much going on, but I’m sure that if we all work together in a disciplined and respectful manner, then we’ll achieve plenty.