Parson Drove manager welcomes 'massive' move

Parson Drove manager Robbie Harris says the club's promotion to the Eastern Counties League is the second biggest thing to happen in the club's 100 year history.

Drove were elevated on Tuesday from the Peterborough League to play Step 6 football for the first time after an FA shake-up of non-league football.

And Harris says the club playing in Division One North of the ECL is second only to the wonderful FA Cup run of 1979, when they beat King's Lynn and Chelmsford City.

Harris told the Citizen: "The club is 100 years old this year and it's the second biggest thing that's happened in those 100 years.

"It's a big step up and it's massive for the club. It should have happened years ago but the club didn't have the funds then. It is the highest level the club has ever played at and we should be in the FA Vase which will be big too."

The former King's Lynn, Wisbech, and Stamford striker said Drove will be looking to consolidate in a mid-table position for their first campaign and he has already started talking to potential signings, knowing that some players will leave because of the extra travelling involved, with games now in Norfolk and Suffolk as well as Cambridgeshire.

With the club already having floodlights, cosmetic work that had to be carried out to meet FA ground criteria included putting in place a slot-in fence and a pay box for supporters.