New Yeovil owner to put £2m into making the club a force again as he reveals his plans

New Yeovil Town owner Martin Hellier pledges to put £2m into making the club a force again as he reveals his plans since taking over.

He said that he had “not waved any magic wands” and his main priority was to stabilise the club and achieve “calm waters”.

A few weeks ago, the Yeovil businessman took over the, team who will be playing National League South football next season.

He confirmed that the club will buy back the Huish Park stadium and an additional £2 million will be available for investment.

Mark Cooper said that he will remain as manager for the next season.

“We’ve not suddenly waved a magic wand and all the problems have gone away with cashflow or what the club owes,” Hellier told BBC Radio Somerset.

“There’s some quite urgent audits to conduct as far as finance goes, the management of it and so on.

“But [the priority is] really stabilising the ship and just getting into some calm waters, creating some breathing space.

“Obviously there are priorities in different verticals of the business – the team, the players, the coach, how we’re moving forward next season – you’ve got that whole side of it.

“We’ve also got the financial side of it, the management side of it, the brand output, the guidelines, the matchday experience, the decor of the building, if that gives you any idea of the degree of task ahead of us.”

Hellier is a longtime Yeovil Town supporter and sponsor, through his company the Hellier Group. He has also taken over the former owner Scott Priestnall and now owns the club.

After Huish Park was sold to South Somerset District Council in 2022, the latter company will have the right to purchase the area.

“The first thing to ensure was we absolutely have that right [to buy back Huish Park]. It’s safeguarded, it’s going nowhere, it will belong to the club and we’ve bought enough breathing space to tuck that one away, make sure it’s safe and concentrate on the actual priorities standing with us now,” Hellier said.

“From the outset, from this day, from this morning, the line is transparency, we have nothing to hide.

“There’s no doubts at all that some time down the line there will be development on that land but the difference being is that development will be a development on land that belongs to the football club in which the revenues will benefit the football club. That’s it in a nutshell.”

Yeovil, along with Torquay, Scunthorpe and Maidstone, will be playing regional football next season in the National League South. 

Cooper will continue as manager next season with “absolute ambition” to win promotion to the fifth division.

“He’s [Cooper] had zero resource in all the time that he’s arrived,” Hellier goes on to say. “The club has had zero resource in the last four years and again it comes back to the fact if you want someone to do a good job, you’ve got to arm them with the good tools to do that job.

“If after that we under perform, we don’t do what was expected of the club or of Mark, then we review it at that point.

“I’m really not looking to radically destabilise everything, changing managers, it really would appear a scattergun, desperate approach.

“We need to look at the things that are in place at the moment and are we getting the most out of them, rather than throwing them all out and starting again.”

Priestnall’s tenure resulted in a period of tension and discontent between Glovers fans and club owners.

Hellier wants to create frequent forums for communication between groups.

“All I can say is I cannot influence the past, I can influence the future,” Hellier added.

“Any trust, any animosity, any bad feelings that they’ve had, I’m very sorry, I wasn’t involved in that at the time. I’m here now.

“Without blowing our trumpet, we are the people who have removed the problem that’s remained for a number of years and we have done that. We ask people to have patience and belief and we will be measured on that.”

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Here what fans are saying as the new Yeovil owner says he is to put £2m into making the club a force again…

@CL_908: That’s the first time I’ve seen Mark Cooper smile in 6 months, Staunton staying is huge, Chairman saying all the right things – happy days. Look forward to the retained list and summer signings 💚 #ytfc

@___ryan___14: Nice to see all 3. Hopefully they’re all on the same page and pulling in the same direction. Sadly that hasn’t been the case for a long time!

@RobManley4: Achieve By Unity 🟢⚪️ Great to see the 3 of them together

@Screw_87: Get in there Martin! Onwards and upwards 👏

@juliedg: I think we’re feeling like our new owner cares about our club. ⚽️

@_Daryl_01: Good luck Martin, trust the right people

@JHBarlow:
We’re all behind you.
Mighty gloves.
💚

@daniel_cabell: Impressive first presser. Fully behind them is the only way forward #YTFC

@RossTC21: Clouds firmly lifted, roll on the season I say! 🟢⚪️⚽️

@Puddy148: Might have our club back 🤍💚😁

@IanWhatmore: Very good presser today. In my opinion, the best table for moving us forward. We have a blank canvas and I agree, there is now nothing to be negative about. Every fan needs to be on board. #achievebyunity

@TheHuishPOV: Impressive on all accounts by all 3 people sat at the table. #ytfc

@CleaveO: Excellent interview. Cautiously optimistic for the future with someone who seems to care deeply about the club and community at the helm. Huge cloud has been lifted and we can focus on the football. Great to see Cooper and Staunton in attendance. #YTFC