The popular Dubliner has said that the immediate priority is to upgrade the playing squad and consolidate the club at a higher grade of football. He is planning to re-open the Petteril End for away fans next season, and still plans to go ahead with the projected movement of the playing area, which would require the demolition of the currently unused Petteril or Waterworks section of the ground. Courtenay said the layout of Brunton Park was very piecemeal and would cost a lot of money to put right. However he was not going to be drawn on the location of the potential new stadium during a phone-in on Radio Cumbria at the weekend. Rumours had suggested a site near Kingmoor Park to the north of the city had been looked at. Courtenay commissioned a feasibility study into the possibility of moving grounds earlier in the season. The outcome was that a move would be preferable, but whilst the club are struggling near the foot of the Football League, making such a move has been moved to the bottom of the priority list. The chairman also refuted suggestions that the club was struggling to sign better players. He said the club would be looking to sign "two or three" further players this close season, and admitted talks had been held with both Danny Sonner and Lee Thorpe. He also dismissed press reports that he was looking for someone to come in and help him finance new signings, saying that he was confident that most of Roddy Collins's transfer targets would be affordable. He said all of the players that Collins had asked to sign last season had been given the green light by the Board. During the phone-in, new United director Alan Steel, recently elected by members of the Supporters' Trust CCUIST who have taken a 20 per cent stake in the club, likened his new role to "looking up a skirt" to see the inner workings of the Brunton Park machine. Steel recently attended his first board meeting and said he was delighted to be given the chance to represent the 1000+ members of the two-year-old Trust. He later said fans should lay off players who are having a bad time on the pitch, and said supporters should get behind the team, not give out abuse. Meanwhile, two of United's "bad boys" of last season, defenders Brian Shelley and Des Byrne, seem to be back in favour and should both be returning to the squad for the start of pre-season. Byrne was "sacked" after a late night drinking binge last March. But he is still under contract and Courtenay admitted he would have to commit a far more serious offence to have his livelihood taken away. The Dublin-born left-back was cleared of assault by a court in London last year before joining the Cumbrians on a two-year contract. Picture from News & Star |
