It could be some party at Bishop’s Cleeve Football Club on Saturday.

The Hellenic League Premier Division pacesetters play their first game on their new 3G artificial pitch at Kayte Lane – Hereford Lads Club are the visitors (kick-off 3pm) – and they could cap what will undoubtedly be a special day by winning the title as well.

If Cleeve take more points from their game than second-placed Westbury United take from theirs – Westbury are at home to Thornbury Town – then Cleeve will be crowned champions.

Cleeve have a nine-point advantage over their nearest rivals who have four games left to play, one more than Cleeve.

There is nothing in the goal difference between the two teams – Cleeve’s is better by one – but although they are so close to winning the title, chairman David Walker is refusing to get carried away.

“If we win two of our last three games we will definitely be champions,” he told The Local Answer.

The return to Kayte Lane for the club’s flagship team – they’ve been playing their home games at Evesham United – has been eagerly anticipated for several weeks now.

It was originally hoped that the new pitch would be ready on Saturday 5^th March but the heavy storms in February meant that date had to be put back.

“We’re all looking forward to Saturday,” Walker said. “It’s very exciting, it’s all looking very good.”

The new pitch is just one part of the major ground improvements that have taken place at Kayte Lane over the past six months or so, improvements that have cost some £835,000.

Those improvements include new LED floodlighting, new spectator pitch surrounds, a new four-and-a-half metre fence around the ground, a new car park at the front and other work to the infrastructure in terms of the car park.

The Football Foundation has been the major contributor to the project but the club also received a grant from the Football Stadia Improvement Fund and they raised £90,000 themselves.

The club have also been supported by Gloucestershire County Council, Southam Parish Council, Tewkesbury Borough Council, Bovis Homes and the Gloucestershire Football Association and they, along with many others, will receive invitations when Cleeve’s new facilities are officially opened on Sunday 15^th May.

Cleeve’s final two league games see them host Shrivenham on Tuesday (7.45pm) and Worcester Raiders a week on Saturday (3pm).