How tremendous it was to look at Ceefax last Saturday evening, and for the first time in many years find Stockport County on the first page of the league table and not the second. I think everyone has been encouraged by the recent set of results, and by the way the team has developed over the season. We are now winning matches that earlier on we would have let slip, so all credit to the players and to Jim Gannon and Peter Ward.

There is a buzz around Edgeley Park which is great to be a part of. And everyone associated with the club can play their part in keeping it going. Everyone who was at Spotland to see County beat Rochdale will know what I mean – there were certainly more than the 1471 County fans that Rochdale claimed attended, and most of us reckoned probably over 2000. We certainly made more noise than the home fans. And in recent weeks the noise at home has been immense as well – there was one point during our game with Torquay here a fortnight ago when I think almost everyone in the ground joined in with the chant of Jimmy Gannon’s Blue and White Army and I looked across to one of my fellow directors and he had a tear in his eye!

Today we welcome league leaders Lincoln City, for what should be a stern test of their ability as well as ours. Could I extend a very warm welcome to all Lincoln’s players, officials and fans. A look at the form table shows that this should be a fascinating contest.

Lincoln City are a club that Stockport County under trust ownership has learnt a lot from. Although Lincoln are not one of the clubs owned outright by their trust, a large percentage of the shares in the club are owned by the Imps Trust. They are run on the same basis that we are – to break even and to be a vital part of their local community. Lincoln City have made an operating profit over recent years, and whenever I hear that clubs cannot be run both successfully on and off the pitch, I can use Lincoln as an instant response. And they have built up facilities at Sincil Bank which are used both by the club and by the local community. They have developed an excellent relationship with key local sponsors and with their local authority. Lincoln have had a few years headstart over County in running the club on professional business lines, since they became a community owned club in the 2000-01 season, but they offer a good example of how to do it.

It is still only just over a year since County was bought by the Trust. Led by MD Keith Agar, County is being run much more efficiently and professionally than it ever has been in the past. There are lots of areas where this is apparent – for example, the County shop, both online and in the ground, has a bigger variety and better products than ever before, including the white shirt which goes on sale today.

Although there’s always more to do, County - and the fans who own it - can be proud of the steps it is taking on and off the field.