Silsden Football Club chairman Sean McNulty expressed delight after the Cobbydalers received crucial funding for ground developments – and revealed he had feared for the club’s future had it not materialised.

The North West Counties League outfit have been granted £53,700 from the Football Foundation and £25,000 from the Asda Foundation to upgrade facilities at their Keighley Road ground to the required standards.

The awards open the door for a new era at the club after a turbulent year for Silsden in which McNulty admits they were ‘seven days from going under’.

That was after they had lost main sponsor Link Telecom last October and left them struggling to pay rent to landlords Keighley Cougars, which culminated in them finishing their tenancy at Cougar Park at the end of last season.

McNulty said: “It’s been a torrid 12 months but we have a strong committee who have worked their socks off and I really think they deserve this news for the time and effort they have put in.”

The grants will be put towards the installation of floodlights, a concrete walkway surrounding the pitch, and upgrading covered standing and seating areas.

It means Silsden will be able to stage pyramid non-league football for the first time and McNulty admitted: “It’s something I’ve dreamt of. It’s not just great for our club but everybody in this area.” Silsden have raised more than £27,500 themselves in pledges and donations and still have to contribute more than £20,000 to the project.

But McNulty said the significance of the grant-funding approval could not be understated.

He said: “I thought ‘If this doesn’t happen, the club could implode. Not to get there now would be absolutely criminal.”

Contractors are due to start work by July 12 at the latest and the club is confident developments will be completed for the start of the season on August 7.