FC St Helens enjoying soaring success

From its humble beginnings a decade ago, FC St Helens has enjoyed a journey of continued success.

The club, based at Windleshaw Sports Club, in Dentons Green, has been on an upward trajectory, with the first team winning various promotions.

They are currently sat near the top of the North West Counties Premier Division, with the club’s on-field success has seen their home ground undergo developments to meet league criteria.

Last season saw them crowned North West Counties Division One Champions to get into the Premier Division.

“We’ve really had to transform the place to meet the ground criteria,” said chairman Ste Leather.

“We needed a minimum of 50 seats and then had to double that”, adding the club now has “a fully-fledged football stadium” that can house around 2,000.

Ste described the club as the “premier non-league team in St Helens”.

The facilities at Windleshaw Sports Club have been improved on the back of the club's success

Their fixtures in the Premier Division sees them face the likes of Bury FC and the derby match with Ruskin-based Pilkington on Boxing Day.

Alongside its on-field triumphs, the club has also made strides in its community work in the town.

Mark Hayes joined the club as sporting director to help develop its community engagement. One example is playing host to meetings of Andy’s Man Club St Helens group, a charity that offers peer-to-peer support groups for men.

Ste hailed the “significant” impact Mark has had on the club and the way he has “engaged our community side of things”.

“We can offer football opportunities for the disabled and disadvantaged, Mark has been instrumental in bringing that on board.”

Reflecting on the club’s growth, Ste said: “Everything about the club is going in the right direction. We are growing and bringing people on board.

“We want to bring more junior teams, disability teams, walking football. There is nothing stopping us.”

FC St Helens celebrating during a win over Litherland last Saturday, September 7

FC St Helens currently has around 15 teams, including juniors, disability, women’s and men’s sides.

“We need more facilities, better facilities and that is one of the biggest projects we have got and that is ongoing,” added Ste.

“When we started in 2014 there was a lot of hard work, the way we set the environment up to allow teams to be successful on the field.

“We had a bag of balls on Bishop Road playing fields 10 years ago and had a masterplan. It came to fruition, when you think about it that way.”

One historic moment for the club came when the men’s first team played in the FA Cup for the first ever time.

“It was a very proud moment,” admitted Ste.

“What a moment that was, we lost 1-0 against a very good Emley side but within 10 years we’re playing in the FA Cup, that was a nice moment.”

The home of FC St Helens

With the team faring strongly in the North West Counties Premier division this season, it says there is no limit to its ambitions going forward.

“The club’s height is how high the men’s first team can get. We also need to get wider. A lot of our focus is on trying to get that width.

“We need third-party organisations to engage with us a lot more, and we are embracing the wider community.

“What we have done is amazing and we will continue that work.”