Promotion can be 'cherry on cake' for steel town

Scunthorpe steel-worker Christian Ashton says British Steel and the football club are the two main things in the town

Scunthorpe will celebrate "the cherry on top of the cake" if its football club is promoted this weekend, fans say, after the town's British Steel plant was saved last month.

Steel-worker Christian Ashton, who works in a mill that produces rails for the country's train tracks, has supported Scunthorpe United for 35 years.

"Good times do seem to be coming back, both for the steelworks and for the football club," Mr Ashton said.

United are looking for their first promotion since 2014 when they host Chester in the National League North play-off final on Sunday.

The club's nickname, The Iron, comes from the town's association with the iron and steel industry.

Mr Ashton, 40, and his British Steel colleagues celebrated the government takeover of the plant to secure its future in April.

He said: "Promotion would be the cherry on top of the cake because the steelworks and Scunthorpe United are the two main things for the town.

"I'm now on the same part of the works where my dad spent most of his life. He took me to my first game."

Funeral director Nichola Threadgold believes a successful football club is important to the community

The club played in the Championship as recently as 2011, but their 72-year spell in the Football League came to an end in 2022 and they were then relegated down to the National League North – the sixth tier – the following season.

In January 2023, the club was handed a winding-up petition by HM Revenue and Customs, but later that year local businesswoman Michelle Harness completed a takeover.

Nichola Threadgold, a fan and local funeral director whose family sponsors the club, is determined to enjoy the weekend after fears the club would be lost.

She said: "There was a point in 2023 where we thought 'are we not going to have a football club?' The numbers had dwindled. It's getting that community back and the fact this weekend it's a sell-out.

"I think it's the whole story of what they've gone through over the years, the ups and downs, and we come back fighting every time. The slogan 'Up The Iron', it's what we do," she added.

Scunthorpe MP Sir Nic Dakin will be at Sunday's game.

He said: "I think the town's turning a corner. There's good times ahead and that's how it needs to be. It doesn't mean it's going to be easy, as always there are difficult things, but I think we can be confident about the future of our area."

The National League North promotion final kicks off at 16:00 on Sunday at Glanford Park, with coverage on BBC Radio Humberside.

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