SATURDAY'S victory over fellow Vanarama National League playoff contenders Barnet saw a little bit of Altrincham FC history. It marked the first time ever that Alty have had six consecutive home Vanarama National League crowds over the 2,000 mark.

In addition, the Boxing Day game against FC Halifax Town saw a record home fan National League attendance just shy of 3,500, beating the record set last season against Wrexham.

So, a big thank you to all of our supporters for getting behind Alty in a way that is unprecedented at this level. Our club prides itself on being in the heart of our community, and thanks to your support we are absolutely nailing this ambition at the moment.

And if we keep turning in performances like on Saturday, we need to adapt to 2,500 or so being the new normal attendance at The J. Davidson Stadium, a feat unthinkable even a few years ago. But whilst we are solidly in contention for the playoffs, it has become a reality.

In order to cater for this amazing increase in support, we are making a number of changes on match days at The J. Davidson Stadium. These will be in place for the televised local derby against Rochdale on Tuesday, January 23rd, for Eastleigh the following Saturday and then for all subsequent home matches thereafter. 

These changes include: 

• Opening additional turnstiles – the Popular Side turnstile block at the bottom of the Golf Road will be in use for each game, in addition to those turnstiles at Chequers, Main Stand and Golf Road
• All Golf Road turnstiles will accept season-tickets and e-tickets, and two of the four will also accept cash payments. This increases the priority access given to our season ticket holders and those who have purchased in advance
• Improved signage inside and outside the Stadium will help guide spectators
• Additional resources will be made available outside the ground to help direct spectators
• Revised match day instructions will be issued ahead of each fixture, and emphasis on imparting information especially relevant for those new fans perhaps not yet familiar with The J. Davidson Stadium 
• Additional toilet facilities will be available on the Popular Side to reduce queueing
• Additional medical personnel will be in attendance, in line with guidelines. 
• Turnstiles will continue to open two hours before kick-off for Saturday games to allow a greater time window to access the ground

In return we would like your support to help us achieve quicker entrance to the ground. Queuing of some sort is inevitable at football grounds, but we need your help to minimise this inconvenience.

Please try to get to the ground in good time. The longer we have to get you into the ground, the better the experience will be. As mentioned above, we successfully had a record number of home fans inside the ground by kick-off on Boxing Day, and we thank you for your help in managing that particular challenge. 

These are exciting times for The Robins, and the contribution being made by you all on match day cannot be underestimated. We have ten home National League games to play – and we would love to see you all at every single one of them. 

Thank you for your magnificent support!