Spalding United board members and management unveil plans to rebuild club's youth set-up

Spalding United's new board have set out plans to "connect with the youth again" in order to take the club forward.

Chairman Andy Gay, along with new directors Iain Crawford and Paul Turnell told supporters at a forum on Tuesday that the Tulips would now be run as a "family-orientated club", with links to the wider community.

The board members also revealed plans to create a business plan that would increase income, some of which would be given to manager Matt Easton to keep and sign players.

Mr Crawford said: "The football club has had quite a few ups and downs in the last few years, mostly downs.

"When Andy asked me to get involved in the club, it was right at the bottom of a pit.

"But there are plans being put in place to drag it back up, although these things are going to take time and help from other people being involved.

"You can have the sharpest business brains in the world but they would still struggle to get this club from where it was without the input of other people.

"This football club has a group of players who have stuck with it over the last four to six months, going weeks without being paid.

"The fact they are still here is a massive pat on the back to them."

Tulips' directors have held talks with Spalding United Youth Football, which broke away from the club several years ago, about working with them by inviting "one or two members of the youth set-up" to join the board.

Supporters were also told about long-term plans to create football academy and provide a "pathway" from junior football to the first team.

Easton, part of the forum panel on Tuesday, said: "There's nothing attached to the club at the moment, except the under-23s' team which is packed with 18-year-olds and under.

"We need a pathway from six years old to the first team because there's a big gap at the moment and it's something we'll work on as a priority.

"We need to have a youth set-up attached to this club and we need it quickly."

Easton was backed by Mr Gay who said: "There was a parting of the ways when the youth teams decided to go away and become something else.

"So we've got to connect with the youth again because we see them as being part of the club's structure."