At the age of 29, Stuart Fitchie became reportedly the youngest football club chairman in Kent history when he ascended to the role at Herne Bay.

But in a short time the energetic leader - who diehard fans have dubbed “Abramofitch” - has made waves around the coastal town.

With a background in banking and a childhood steeped in the beautiful game, the millennial was confident in his ability to take on the top job.

But not everyone in the non-league football world has been willing to take him at face value.

“There’s been instances when I’ve gone to away games and they’ve refused to accept that I’m the chairman and denied me entry to the boardroom,” Stuart recalled.

“But what I’ve got on my side is that I understand the way the world works, I wouldn’t say better than someone of age, but I’ve got a youthful mindset.

“I’m in a time in my life that I really want to progress and push on. I’m ready to take risks.”

In early 2019 the club was in trouble.

Having played for Herne Bay’s reserves and knowing people involved in the running of the side, Stuart was invited to a series of meetings.

“I went out of curiosity to see what the main people that were taking over the club were saying and if I could offer my thoughts,” he said.

“But as discussions went on, it seemed like, for their own reasons, people were saying they couldn’t commit and wanted to step away.

“I fully believed in my own abilities to be chairman, but I didn’t want to be bullish because I did still feel a bit like an outsider.

“We were sat round a table and I asked the question, ‘Who’s gonna be chairman?’

“I looked around the room and there were a lot of blank faces, so I said, ‘Well I’ll do it.’”

I'm speaking with Stuart on a bright Monday afternoon. We’re inside an outhouse the club uses as their committee area and tea room.

A signed jersey of the side’s top goalscorer, Eddie Collins, is pressed within a frame that hangs on the far wall.

The team are due to face-off against Lewes - favourites to win the league at the season’s outset - the next night.

Following a string of losses, the Bay are keen to snap their unhappy streak with an upset win.

When Stuart was appointed to the role three years ago, he says a bold approach was desperately needed - the club was on the brink of administration, and morale among players was low.

He comes from a family invested in football.

Back in the day, his dad played for various Sunday league teams, and his grandad would coach.

“Everyone thought I was mad,” he remembers.

“I took on the role on a voluntary basis, but I already had a full-time job in London and a baby due in a couple of months.”

In his first season, he tried to make the club financially sustainable.

Introducing card readers, putting on events in the clubroom and persuading sponsors to sign on with them, Stuart set about generating revenue by any means available.

On the pitch, the team started off shakily, but soon came into form. With 10 games to go they were in a play-off position. Then Covid hit.

“We had put so much time and effort in, for it all to be taken away was really gutting,” Stuart, now 31, winced.

“But during that time, I realised what the club means to people locally.

“They work and do whatever they’re doing during the week and then come here on the weekend as their escape or release, something that they look forward to.

“We had set up a Zoom call with some fans, and some of them were going through some really hard times and really missed football.

“That was when I realised, I’m in control of something that is deeper than just playing a football match.”

With lockdowns interrupting the first two seasons of the new chairman’s stewardship, the campaign that began in August 2021 was the first the squad were able to see through to completion.

Nine months later, Herne Bay were promoted into Isthmian Premier Division from the South East Division - the highest league standing in the club’s history.

“I remember the final whistle of the play-off, and I just broke down in tears because it was such an incredible achievement for everyone involved,” Stuart, who lives in Whitstable, continues.

“We have a volunteer base that do things out of the goodness of their heart, and for the goodness of the club.”

Stuart is adamant the Bay’s success is the result of team effort.

He described his role as that of an enabler - helping everyone else to do the best work they can in their roles.

Having said that, he seems to do a bit of everything around the club himself - running to the butchers at half-time to restock on burger patties, serving tea, negotiating player loans.

He does it all while checking in with team manager Ben Smith five times a day and keeping tabs on the organisation’s finances.

We meet again on the Tuesday to watch the side’s encounter with Lewes.

Walking around with Stuart, it's apparent that his hands-on approach has resulted in him personally knowing every face and name around the club.

Chit-chat with cooks, coaches and parking stewards, fist-bumps for fans, and discussions with sponsorship reps, the Herne Bay leader bears little resemblance to the shadowy overlords of Premier League teams.

"Every now and then I’ll have someone come up to me and call me Abramofitch, I think it’s quite funny..."

Nevertheless, he’s curiously acquired a nickname pinning him to perhaps the most shadowy football magnate of them all - disgraced Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich.

“I don’t even know who started it,” chuckles Stuart.

“I think it was my friend, Ben Brown.

“Being a local, non-league football club and knowing a lot of people in the area, it doesn’t take long for something like that to spread.

“Every now and then I’ll have someone come up to me and call me Abramofitch, I think it’s quite funny.

“If I can emulate what he did at Chelsea when he was there, and have that kind of success at Herne Bay, then I’ll take that.

“I mean, we don’t have the deep pockets and influence that he has, but yeah, I’ll take it as a compliment.”

In fact, Stuart has not contributed any of his own money to the club.

During our interviews, he reveals his aim is to get the club to a place of sustainability. He believes handouts are no good in the long-term.

On its own back, the club is now in a huge growth phase.

“When I took over we had one men’s team and a couple of youth teams that weren’t fully incorporated, so we’ve got them under the umbrella and we’ve got a thriving women’s section which is going from strength to strength.”

Upgrades in infrastructure are also in the works. Just a few weeks ago, the club’s £600,000 project to transform their grass pitch to an all-weather 3G astroturf surface was completed.

Off the field, the clubhouse is under renovation and special wheelchair stands are also being added, all in an effort, Stuart stressed, to improve the experience for fans.

Before kick-off for Tuesday’s game, I ask “Abramofitch” how the team is faring this season in a challenging new league.

“The results so far haven’t been kind, but we’ve played well,” he says.

“I think we’ve been holding our own most of the time and we’ve been unfortunate not to get more points.

“From what I see now, we’re not panicking, but the season doesn’t last forever so we need to start seeing some changes.

“But I’m confident that Ben, this management team and the players can turn it around, without a doubt.”

In the lead up to this week’s game, Herne Bay had been on a muddled run of draws and defeats, taking just two points from their last five games, which included a thumping six-nil defeat to Hornchurch.

But much to the delight of the chairman and the hundreds of fans who had turned out to watch their local team, Herne Bay thrashed Lewes 4-1.

The win lifted them out of the relegation zone, and into 18th place.

Here’s hoping they are back to winning ways.