ONE of the people who has pumped in £50,000 to help get Hereford FC up and running says the support from the fans has made it all worthwhile.

Entrepreneur Mark Blandford was this week revealed as one of the four founding shareholders whose money helped set up the club.

The other three are Mark Ellis, co-founder of M and M sport, who has recently taken the helm at Burghill Valley Golf Club, former Hereford United director Mike Roberts and Nigel Edmondson, who has a number of businesses in the county.

All are life-long Bulls supporters who have agreed not to have any return on their money.

"I have known Jon Hale [Hereford chairman] for a long time and I was having a conversation with him along the lines of the amount of debt that the old club was getting into and clearly it couldn't go on," said Blandford.

"We had to come up with a plan b in case they got liquidated."

Blandford said the benefactors are merely trustees who have complete faith in the club's board of directors to run it effectively.

"The objective was to see a club called Hereford in black and white playing at Edgar Street," added Blandford.

"Along with the three other individuals, we wanted to make it more prudent because previous regimes spent a lot of time talking about development and development profits.

"We wanted to be up front and say we didn't want our money back, which is emphasises in the Articles of Association.

"We see ourselves as people who are just sitting in the background and will let the club run the company.

"Effectively, we are just trustees and want to make sure that the club sits by its ethos of sustainability.

"I'm delighted that the club is back and it has got good people running it.

"A huge number of people have been involved, which includes Hereford United Supporters Trust (HUST) and their board, the current, volunteers and a large number of tradesmen.

"It seems that the club have signed an exciting squad of players and I cannot wait for the season to start at 3 o'clock on Saturday."

That game is against Nottinghamshire outfit Dunkirk, who just avoided relegation from the Midland Football League Premier Division last season.

But joint-manager Nick Hawkins says his team is now much stronger and Hereford could be in for a rude awakening.

"Hereford will get the same respect as any other team we face and will identify strengths and weaknesses, because there will be some," said Hawkins.

"I have every confidence in my team and believe we can compete with anyone.

"We will embrace the game because it's not every day that you play in front of 3,000 plus people.

"Hereford need to know that whoever they play will be a cup final for them and will do whatever it takes to win, they cannot underestimate it."

Former Nottingham Forest midfielder Eugen Bopp has come out of retirement to play for Dunkirk this season, while Tristram Whitman, who earned promotion to the Football League with Doncaster, is also on board.

"I would expect Hereford to win the league and their fans are right to think the same when they are used to Conference football," said Hawkins.

"But it is a little naive if some of them think they'll walk it because a lot of teams have ex-professionals in their squad.

"It should be an attacking game on Saturday with plenty of goals, but we're also going to play the occasion.

"Four or five of my team played against FC United in front of 3,000 fans and we have got vast experience in the squad."

Saturday's game is all ticket, as is Tuesday night's trip to Stourport Swifts and the Bank Holiday Monday derby at Westfields.

More than 1,300 season tickets have so far been snapped up by Hereford fans, which can be collected from 10am to 6pm tomorrow and 10am to 2pm on Saturday.

Tickets for the Westfields game are available to buy from allpay.park from 7pm to 9pm tonight.

See herefordfc.co.uk for all arrangements.