‘We believe the atmosphere at Huish Park will be electric’

Taking ownership of a football club may not been seen as the best business decision as it can become a millstone but for Martin Hellier, the buying of Yeovil Town Football Club represented a culmination of a dream and a desire to put his beloved local team back where they belonged.

In a frustrating decade since winning at Wembley in the League One Play-offs to take their place in the Championship, Yeovil Town have been on a slippery slope to oblivion.

As their defeated opponents on that memorable day in 2013, Brentford, establish themselves in the Premier League, Yeovil will start the coming season in the sixth tier of English football, in the National League South.

The takeover of Yeovil by businessman Martin has brought a bagful of positive vibes to South Somerset and many fans are now looking forward to the coming season for the first time in more years than they care to remember.

Speaking to Somerset’s Alive! about taking on the football club, Martin speaks about what his positive ownership can bring to the town and surrounding area.

Martin told us: “A ’watershed moment’ is a great way of putting it. It’s difficult to single out individual benefits of owning a football club, but certainly in the case of Yeovil Town, after so many years of fans being left out in the cold, not communicated to, frankly ignored, it’s greatly satisifying, as a local boy myself, to bring harmony to a community club, reunite the fans, open up two-way channels of communication, and start to show fans tangible proof of our commitment to the club and the community.”

Martin and his team have been busy refreshing the facilities at the ground while giving manager Mark Cooper the opportunity to build a squad that is capable of bouncing back to the National League at the first attempt and hopefully navigate a path to the Football League once again.

The buzz being created with Martin’s purchase of the club and the land on which the stadium is built, is something that is hoped will transcend to other businesses in the area and give the town as a whole a lift after being in the doldrums for a while.

Martin said: “I believe it can, if those businesses, and the owners of those businesses, to subscribe to the same philosophy.

“To take pride in every aspect of their business, to step back for a moment and say ‘What can I do to improve every aspect of my business?’

“Customers need to feel acknowledged, they need to feel loved, it’s not difficult, once you learn to remove complacency, and replace it with accountability. You should work on the philosophy of constantly striving for perfection, knowing you ill never reach it, but in doing so, you are continually improving the offering to your customers.

“Do not undersell yourself, aim for the best every day in every aspect of your business.”

While relegation is difficult for a football team, it would seem that there is plenty to look forward to this coming season for Yeovil fans, and that the negativity of past years may have been blown away in the refresh that has been given by Martin and his team.

The new Yeovil Town owner said: “It’s interesting, that among fans, we barely hear about relegation or any of its negative connotations right now. I think we’re all glad just to have removed that dark cloud that hung over the club for so many years, the lack of communication, the acute lack of investment.

“First and foremost, we have united the separated parts that caused so much animosity, we have a transparent and open policy of communication, and a club in which the fans are first and foremost our priority.”

Martin continued: “Additionally, we are making cosmetic improvements to the stadium, and this isn’t one pre-season tidy-up, this is a programme of continual improvements whilst the club is under my tenure.

“Fans will also see that our Manager Mark Cooper is now able to make strategic, well thought out decisions now that he has the budget to do so and a Chairman that allows him to make his own decisions.”

Martin concluded by saying that the future is bright for the club and the area and he hopes that supporters will return to join the journey.

He told Somerset’s Alive!: “We’re absolutely loving the journey right now and wish to thank all the fans for the their patience and support. We have no doubts the atmosphere will be electric at Huish Park and we hope to see as many fans as possible next season!”