Corby Town target National League after takeover

The new owners of a non-league football club have stated an ambition to reach the National League for the first time.

Corby Town are currently members of the Northern Premier League's Midlands Division - the eighth tier of the English game.

Chris Mallender, the former chief executive of Corby Borough Council, said he and investors Raj Uppal, Ben Cripps and Craig Nolan wanted to make "an immediate impact" with the Steelmen.

"These guys are not here to play at it," said Mallender, who will become the club's chairman subject to FA approval.

Last week, the club announced, external that Willoughby (607) Ltd - trading as The Three Goats - had acquired a majority shareholding and all other financial interests held by previous owner Paul Glass.

The Three Goats is a hospitality and leisure group founded by Uppal and Cripps, while Nolan is the co-owner of a Corby-based construction and project management firm.

Mallender's association with the club stretches across 20 years and he played a role in its move to Steel Park stadium in 2011.

Speaking to BBC Radio Northampton's Non-League Scene, Mallender said developing the club's stadium was a key goal for the new owners.

"There is this huge unfulfilled potential about the stadium," he said. "The stadium was aways designed to be more than a football stadium. It was meant to be a hub for the wider community.

"We [the investors] have got the skills to maximise that potential. It is going to be probably one of the best stadiums in non-league by the time the investment has gone in."

Founded in 1948, Corby Town have spent their entire history in non-league. The club has twice had spells in the National League North - the sixth tier - but has never reached the top level of non-league football.

"The owners want to get to the National League. I think the National League North is an ambitious target I think we should achieve." Mallender added.

"This club will be unrecognisable in a year's time. We're strengthening all-around. When we make these announcements [new signings and stadium developments] people will understand the ambition."