ONWARDS you march with over £100,000 raised and the total in sight for County fans backing the Supporters’ Trust takeover of the club.

A splendid effort, achieved from the efforts of ordinary County fans, digging deep and showing they want a future where Newport has a vibrant Football Club, rather than a twice dormant one.

It has surely exceeded all expectation, the extraordinary fundraising so far, with hope springing eternal that after for so long being a club relying on a skeleton staff and minimal input from more than a handful of individuals, County will soon have options galore as they prepare to democratically elect a board. I look forward to my chance to vote for the right candidates.

It is imperative the push continues, with focus hopefully also catching the eye of local businesses, because there would be mutual benefits to be had from small scale involvement in a Football League club.

What would £1000 be to a popular Newport restaurant or public house, both of whom benefit from having a football club that attracts thousands of visitors to the city, sometimes twice a week, with the potential for that number to increase?

We want to get away from a culture of relying on individuals, but businesses across Newport should be looking to contribute to this evolution, revolution, whatever you want to call it.

Organisations in Newport should be proud to call themselves partners of Newport County AFC and should appreciate there is a goodwill flipside that means it is also good business to back the club when they need it the most.

This is a seismic moment in time for a club that only exists because of the efforts of a group of supporters who just wouldn’t accept that Newport County were dead and buried.

County have scratched and clawed their way back to the Football League and there is a passion for the club that runs deep for many, many fans.

Newport County AFC, the club that rose from nothing, is on the brink of a fresh start and a bright, collective future.

Let’s hope everyone will do all they can to make the dream a reality.