Our last match here at Stonebridge Road was just under a month ago and as you enter the stadium today I know you will be impressed by the progress we have made on our new main stand in that time. The steel superstructure is substantially complete and occupies the full length of Stonebridge Road. The roofing structure is progressing well with the roof purlins in place. Within the next four weeks the roof cladders will be on site adding a splash of red to the new stand.

We have had a team of bricklayers constructing the new blockwork and insulation both externally and internally and we can now start to get a real feel for the internal layout of the stand and in particular the location of my new office!

Although hidden from you, work on the external fabric of the building has started behind the roadside hoardings and we are very pleased with how it will look.

The new seats for the stand are on order and we have gone for poppy red for supporters’ seating, white for the press box, black for the directors’ box and cardinal red for the hospitality seating.

Last Wednesday Dave Archer and I were presented with a range of furniture options and we selected contemporary furniture for our state-of-the-art hospitality lounges and our new offices.

On an entirely different note, training for my forthcoming 555km bike ride in Vietnam and Cambodia has gone very well – although I am not sitting down much lately! I must thank everyone for supporting my fundraising efforts for the Save The Children. I have already reached my target of £3,250 with gift aid pushing the total over £3,500.

It is not too late to donate so please go to http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/DeanPooley if you wish to donate.