Interview | Ian Hertwick | “We’re all looking forward to getting back to Croft Park”

Long serving Club Shop volunteer Ian Hertwick is excited to resume his role at the club and get back to watching football at Croft Park, having missed not seen the first team in action in over 2 months. 

“We found it strange at the beginning of the season” he explained. Having been removed from his voluntary role in the summer, he chose not to renew his season ticket and didn’t attend games regularly at the start of the season. “We found it strange at the beginning of the season to find a new routine, and personally, I totally lost the love for the place”. 

He added “I haven’t been since the FA Cup match v Bury, but I feel the club is ours again, and we need that feel-good factor back. It may take some time, but I’m sure we will get there”. 

Ian, his wife Karen, Anth and Peter were all thanked across Social Media and in person for their efforts in the club store earlier in the summer, after they originally departed their roles. When reflecting on the plaudits they received, Ian said “It’s was a bit overwhelming, to be honest. We don’t do this to get plaudits, but reading some of the comments made us realise that we were very much appreciated”. 

Now with a new regime in place and Ian and co back in the club shop, he explained that they’re all looking forward to getting to business, saying “We’re all looking forward to getting back into the shop again. I think we were in two minds about returning due to the way things were handled in the past at first. Once we met with members of the CIC though, we knew it the right thing to do”.

He added “It’s going to take us a while to get back in the swing of things, so hopefully, everyone will be a bit patient while we find our feet again! It is important to remember that every penny taken at the shop goes back to the club in some format though so please, do come and support the shop”. 

The Club Shop will reopen again this Saturday at 1pm, and will remain open until 2:50pm. The shop will be open once again after the match for 30 minutes.

If you’re unable to make Saturday’s game but still want to pick up a new shirt or a beach towel, you can check out the new online shop here.