Rochester United have plans in place for improvements to their home venue and are also ready for a upgrade to their league status.

The Spartans missed out on a promotion last season in the SCEFL Division 1 play-offs but manager Matt Hume believe they have every chance to make it count this time around.

Hume, who is also chairman, has been busy putting plans together or a new clubhouse at their Rede Court Road ground while also plotting success on the pitch. They kick off their league season this Saturday at home to SC Thamesmead.

Hume said: “Off the pitch we had a lot to resolve last year with the lease, which is all done and the playing side of things we retained the majority of our squad which is really good. I feel we are really well placed to progress as a team.

“We were really close last year and on our day we were one of the better sides in the league, I felt. Maybe it was a year too early for us but we’ve had the squad together now for two and a half years with myself.

“Last year was a massive step forward and I am hoping with a little luck this year we can go that one step further and get promoted.

“I feel like I am at the stage as we were previously, all that time ago (winning the Kent Invicta League in 2012, then as Bly Spartans), when we got promoted. That wasn’t in the first season, that was three or four seasons in when everything came together. We’re hoping we are at that stage again, but who knows?”

Repairs have been made to the existing changing rooms at their ground after they flooded, revealing rotten floors under the showers that had to be dug up and replaced. It also led to a couple of games being cancelled.

The project the club are pushing forward now is a new clubhouse, one that can be built alongside the existing structure, in the car park.

The club are going through the planning stage and have architects working on the designs.

“We’re trying to create a really nice venue for people to use on and off the pitch, on mathdays and which our youth section can use,” Hume said.

The hope planning can be agreed within a couple of months, in principle, and before the end of the season the structure can be built so it’s ready for use this time next year.

Hume said: “We feel the new clubhouse will help generate the income that helps us progress as a team and a club.

“We want to be able to use the facility not just on matchdays but if we can get a nice venue we can hire it out for all sorts of events.

“It’s a great location and there are lots of things we can do that can hopefully generate money within the club.

“We want the club to be generating its own income, without one individual putting the money in so it’s got sustainability and that’s something both Chatham and Snodland have done.

“It is not new what these clubs are doing but it’s working and I want to try and replicate what works.

“Success on the pitch matters but with football it is no good getting success on the pitch and going up and not being in a position to take advantage of that because your facilities are no good and you can’t cope in the league above, with wage bills etcetera

“I feel like we have done a lot of stuff over the last few years and we know we’ve progressed significantly, with all these kids teams, and we are hoping we can have a ladies team this year as well.

“We have just got a lot more people involved in the club and we think we have a much bigger infrastructure of a club than what we used to have.

“My job is to get us promoted as well, but I think the fact that we have kept the same team together, hopefully we are a bit ahead of other teams and clubs and it can be our year this time.”