A LITTLE over three years ago, Warrington Rylands were struggling in the lower reaches of the Cheshire Football League Premier Division.

With that in mind, the journey they have been on since is nye-on unfathomable.

Record-breaking title charges, FA Cup runs and, more recently, the glory of lifting the FA Vase at Wembley Stadium have all featured, but now their journey is about to take its biggest step.

Their first ever Northern Premier League game sees them welcome Leek Town to Gorsey Lane on August 14.

It is sure to be a proud day for those who helped the club through the darker days – but they have no intention of this being the terminus of their adventure.

“I think Wembley was the moment to step back and say ‘wow,’ chairman Mark Pye said.

“We were playing in the Cheshire League only a couple of years ago and we used to play these kinds of teams in pre-season friendlies and look up to them.

“When I came in, we were struggling in the Cheshire League but we’ve just kicked on and kicked on.

“Having said that, though, I don’t think anybody would have predicted we would get to where we are now in this amount of time.

“It hasn’t been easy but I don’t think it’s ever a smooth ride at any football club.

“What I love about the club is that there’s no fear from anybody here. We just look forward and get on with it.”

Since successfully applying to join the North West Counties League in 2018, the club has known nothing but success.

Their first season saw them win the First Division South title at a canter and they looked set to go straight through the Premier Division until Covid wiped out the 2019-20 campaign.

The pandemic did similar to the following season in terms of the league with Blues having made a solid start, but their FA Vase journey was allowed to continue.

Of course, it ended memorably with a 3-2 final victory over Binfield under the famous Wembley arch.

The wave of momentum carrying them into the Northern Premier League certainly has some grunt behind it and while they may be in unchartered waters, that “no fear” mantra will remain.

“It’s a bit of the unknown. Obviously, we’ve seen teams around and we’ve picked players up from these teams,” Pye said.

“For us, it’s about going into it with no fear. I’m sure Dave, Fraser and the lads will be ready.

“You go into every season with the ambition of being up there in the table, but there’s some big clubs in our league and clubs who have been around for a long time.

“At some point, we will take stock of where we are but I don’t see that as happening now.

“For now, we want to keep pushing. We’ll back Dave as much as we can and see where we go.”