CINDERFORD Town chairman Stu Tait expressed his gratitude to dedicated volunteers who helped the club receive the required ground grading for Southern League football next season.

The club’s Causeway ground was give a provisional D grade, with just areas of the pitch run-offs needing to be extended by around four inches.

This work will be completed this week following Town’s relegation from the Southern League Premier Division back to the league they won last season due to their 2-1 home defeat to Banbury United.

“Having now been relegated we only need a D grade,” Tait confirmed in a statement to fans.

“We will ask next season to have it regraded as the C grade should be easily granted having adhered to all the requirements in preparations to when we return once again to the Southern Premier League.

“All Grade D requirements were completed and the C grade would have been had the new stand’s final bit of concreting been finished.

“With this in mind the realignment [to pitch run-offs] will be completed by Mowtech and helpers on Wednesday and Thursday as we have a match on Tuesday night. It then it will be re-checked and we should have the D grade granted.

“We were complimented on the vast amount of work completed and they were extremely impressed with Ken Phelps’ design of the new stand, and the fact we went one step further by having a disabled ramp.

“So overall it’s been a fantastic effort by all the volunteers. The committee would like to put on record it’s sincere gratitude to all the companies who supplied us materials as without their help our goal would have not been achieved.

“We are at last the community club we’ve been striving to become over the past season.”