LAST week we received confirmation of exactly how much it will cost us to finally settle our recent Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) offer, including the supervisor's own fees.

That will be paid with all haste in order to extricate ourselves from the stigma of being in a CVA. Of course it is far more serious for Clubs entering into a CVA or administration now with the penalty of a 10-point deduction. This measure is aimed, along with squad budgeting, to get clubs to operate sensibly and within their means.

Being able to pay is a far cry from recent times when we struggled financially. It was then, in our most difficult times, that people rallied to the club's cause. The club itself came up with lots of fund-raising activities from open days, auctions, dinners amongst others, but we also had terrific response from supporters.

Individuals made donations to the club and, in conjunction with HUISA, an ambitious raffle with a car as the main prize was organised in a drop-a-pat competition. With the aid of a pedigree bull, the pitch was divided into squares and each square was raffled off, wherever the Bull, who roamed the pitch, did his business the owner of that square won the car. One group of supporters started a Save The Bulls Fund over the internet - people set up standing orders for whatever amount they wished to donate with half the fund going to the club and the other half going into the pot for a monthly draw. The funds from that were invaluable to us at the time and it has since developed into a Back the Bulls lottery and continues to operate very successfully - anyone wishing to join that scheme should contact the club.

Following relegation out of the Football League, I have appreciated the attitude of our main sponsor Sun Valley and our kit supplier Mark Ellis. Never for a moment did their commitment to the club falter and without their help it would have made survival even more difficult.

The latest scheme to help finance the extending of our dressing rooms has been Buy a Brick. For £25 anyone can have their name inscribed on a brick in the main foyer area wall. Again, it has been met with a very positive response from our supporters.

n On a very sad note I learnt of the death of one of our former Centre of Excellence coaches, Steve Bennett. When I first arrived at the club there was a small group of dedicated coaches who gave their time freely to help our youngsters at our centre. Unfortunately, when relegated we lost our licence to run a centre but I always appreciated the coaches' work. Steve met his death in tragic circumstances on a golfing holiday in Tenerife. My condolences go to his family.