Moreton Rangers make a welcome return to action on Saturday after a break of three-and-a-half weeks.

The Hellenic League Division One club have not played this year but are now looking to kick on over the final few months of the season.

“It’s a challenge, we’re punching above our weight,” said chairman Will Down. “But although we’ve got a couple of tough fixtures coming up, we’ve also got some winnable games.”

Saturday’s game is one of the tough ones when second-placed Hartpury University are the visitors to London Road.

They are 27 points better off and 13 places ahead of Moreton in the 19-strong division, but moving forward Down is optimistic about the future.

“Because of Covid this is what I’d call our first proper season in Division One of the Hellenic League,” he said.

“It’s a very hard competition but it’s a level we want to play at. Our manager Glen Brotherton came in at the end of 2021 so this is his first full season.”

Down is even newer to the club, having taken over as chairman in March last year.

“I live almost opposite the ground,” said the 37-year-old, who grew up in Shipston.

“I’m a builder/developer in the town and before that I worked in hospitality.

“I thought I could be of some use to the club because amateur sports clubs are always looking for someone to put in a shift behind the bar and help out with maintenance.”

The club agreed and obviously liked what they heard because Down was installed as chairman.

Ten months on he is happy with the progress that is being made, although he is keen to stress that everything will take time.

“We need to build slowly and sustainably,” he said. “We can’t do anything overnight but we’ve done some work on the infrastructure – we’ve improved the kitchen and the changing rooms – and we’ve built up our sponsorship.

“As with every amateur sports club we need volunteers – five, six, seven of them and then more will follow.”

Down readily admits that in the past he was more of a rugby man than a football man.

“I played rugby for Stow as a kid,” he said, “and my daughter Rosie is now playing for their under-6s.”

But while he enjoys his Sunday morning trips to Oddington Road, his main sporting focus is most certainly Moreton Rangers and he’s in it for the long haul.

“I definitely see it as a five-year plan,” he said. “One of the things I’d really like to see is a 3G or 4G pitch at London Road.

“I know that costs a lot of money and it may be that we can’t make it happen in the next five years, but I think it is something that the club should aim for.

“We’ve got nine youth teams and the grass pitches can’t support all the football we want to play.”

And an all-weather pitch would be beneficial for the whole community.

“That’s my main goal,” said Down. “It would enable all kinds of people to use it.”

Down is also focused on the football side and wants to bridge the gap between “the excellent youth set-up” and the senior team.

A final decision is due soon on how to make that happen, but the obvious aim is to make sure as many of the club’s talented young players continue to play their football at Moreton when they move into the adult game.

“At the moment it’s not joined up very well,” Down continued. “The key thing is to work with the coaches and parents to find the right fit for the players.”

Down, meanwhile, is a big fan of manager Glen Brotherton.

“I knew him before I joined the club,” he said. “He’s been great on and off the pitch.

“The aim this season is to do better than last season.”

Moreton finished 16th in the 17-strong Division One in 2021/22, winning seven and drawing three of their 32 games. This season they have won five, drawn three and lost 11.