Warrington Town chairman delighted with promotion win

After Warrington Town hit a new high with promotion to the National League North, the first thoughts of many went to him and his family – the driving forces behind anything that happens at Cantilever Park.

He freely admits that this season may well have been his last as chairman if his side had slipped to a third play-off final defeat in a row, but Isaac Buckley-Ricketts’ dramatic late winner against Bamber Bridge on Bank Holiday Monday put those thoughts to bed once and for all.

Warrington Town celebrate at full-time (Image: Jonathan Moore)

Now, work will start on planning for life in the sixth tier of English football and a new chapter of the journey for himself, wife Lisa and their children Freya and Oliver.

“You talk to yourself about the outcomes of today and if we hadn’t have been successful, I’d have asked myself “do I have another season left?” he told the Guardian post-match.

“It’s easy to say after winning but honestly, I don’t think I would have done.

“My eldest was three when we landed here and she’s 17 now – it’s not just me that’s given a big chunk of my life to it, my family have too. Lisa works tirelessly here day in, day out.

“It’s a really small ship with how it’s run so it’s great to be going to new grounds, meeting new people and playing new teams. It’s refreshing for everyone.

“When I first came here all those years ago, I said we had the potential to be a National League club and that’s what we’ve wanted to be.

“We could have sold this venue out twice over for this game, which shows there’s a demand from this town for the level of football we’re about to go to.”

Once the champagne has run dry and the sore heads have been soothed, work will start to make sure Town are ready for the National League North.

Upgrades to Cantilever Park will start imminently to ensure the club satisfy ground grading criteria – work that will eat into next season’s playing budget.

A club that has got used to winning will inevitably find things more difficult given the step up they are about to take, but Macormac is hopeful of being “competitive” in the league above.

“Next season will be difficult, but we’ve taken a step forward so it’s a real bonus,” he said.

“We need to make sure we’re not caught out – people who follow the game will know what’s happened to certain clubs in the pyramid.

“We need to make sure we’re on with it in a timely manner – we’ve got the summer to do it so next week, we’ll be starting work.

“We’ll try to be competitive but if we can get the ground done while achieving a mid-table position, that will have been a phenomenal season for us.”

More than anything, though, promotion will do wonders for Yellows’ efforts to elevate themselves in the conscience of this rugby league-dominated town.

Given their increase in support this season, however – their average home gate has increased by more than 30 per cent – they were doing a fine job of that anyway.

A record crowd of 2,550 packed into Cantilever Park to see the game and with games against the likes of Scunthorpe United, Southport and others to come next season, more sell-outs are likely.

Cantilever Park was at full capacity for the play-off final against Bamber Bridge (Image: Jonathan Moore)

Macormac believes this victory will do just as much for their reputation and standing as their memorable FA Cup first round victory over League Two side Exeter City back in 2014.

“People have said you must be really relieved, but I just feel a sense of achievement.

“Considering what we’ve been through, whether it’s the recovery from Covid, a managerial change or whatever – Mark (Beesley, manager) and Dave (Raven, assistant manager) have worked tirelessly to get this squad together.

“18 months of hard work has paid off today but for as far as I’m concerned, it is a real achievement.

“We’ve done it with a threadbare squad with really low resources and the way we’ve done it today – with 10 men at the time – is phenomenal.

“We played Exeter in 2014 and people in the town still mention it.

“Today, in my view, will have the same effect – the Exeter game took us to another level and this will do the same.”