Good afternoon and welcome to what should be a day to remember as we are officially crowned champions of the Northern Premier League. Sounds good doesn’t it?

Last week was an incredible occasion for the Club, our Town and of course our unbelievable fanbase who joined us in Whitby in their hundreds to see us seal the title. It was crazy to see the pubs, bars and restaurants full of Radcliffe fans that distance away, and great to see whole families enjoying their weekend together in support of the Club, there was barely an available hotel room as Whitby became ‘Radcliffe on Sea’ for a few days!

The support was amazing, and the events after the final whistle and into the night will live long in the memories for all of us. We have made history on and off the field and I am so proud of all that we have achieved together.

I am equally proud of our players and coaching staff, who have given us all such an entertaining and dominant season to enjoy. We have experienced games and goals this season that we will never forget - this squad has put Radcliffe on the footballing map and become legends of our town in the process.

Today we have the chance to thank them, and after the trophy lift please make sure you stay around for the lap of honour and let’s make sure these players know what it means to us.

In Bern and Jonno we are blessed with the most successful management team in Non-League, but more importantly than that they are top local lads, who understand what it means to be Radcliffe and represent the Club in such an incredible way.

With their expertise they have built a squad of entertainers and misfits with a brand of football that’s exciting and passionate - a squad which epitomises their spirit and that of this town. They’ve been the final piece in the jigsaw to bring this all together and they have my heartfelt thanks for believing in what this Club could achieve and then delivering it with such power.

None of this is possible without the volunteers and staff, who work incredibly hard for this club in so many different ways. Whether that be groundstaff, media, bar staff, commercial or any of the other many roles, their contribution is so important to the collective success and I thank them all from the bottom of my heart for all they do.

Then we have Marcus McCabe - The Godfather of Radcliffe, what a truly transformative impact this one man has had on our Club, his drive and determination in everything he does is infectious and he’s a natural born winner. I could not get on with developing our Club without his backing, he’s the Yin to my Yang and a true friend.

I want to thank everyone who believed in us and bought into what we are about, to Bernard Manning who built a platform for us to succeed through 25 years of blood sweat and tears, the past players and managers who have all contributed to this achievement and of course the incredible fans who have brought this place to life.

I want to thank my wife Claire and daughter Charlotte for putting up with me, sat at my computer night after night till daft o’clock so that I can try and build something we can all be proud of.

Now we head to the uncharted waters of the National League with a duo of Managers who know exactly what it takes, and a squad full of winners.

I can assure you we are not going there to make up the numbers - we are there to shake up the establishment - we are there to make an impact, we don’t know how to do it any other way! It’s just who we are now - and the best bit is, it’s still just the beginning!

There is a lot going on behind the scenes to bring you and much to look forward to but we’ll save that for another day - today is about celebrating this championship winning squad and enjoying ourselves.

Have a great day and I’ll see you in the National League North!

Paul Hilton
Chairman