"Billy and I would like to wish all our supporters, sponsors, committee, and playing staff a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

We finish 2024 in 3rd position in the league and continue to put pressure on the teams above. Jon McDonald and his team have put together a cracking squad and hopefully we will be right up there come the end of the season. We are a good team in a very, very tough league. 

Also, on the football front, we will be announcing in the next week or so plans to develop youth/junior teams at the club. Initially, we plan on having three teams playing under the Dunston UTS banner. It will be on a small basis to begin as we want to do things correctly, but who knows where that could go?

Away from the playing side, we continue to make improvements off the pitch at the UTS Stadium and the work carried out by our committee is relentless to keep the ground to a standard that not just meets the FA criteria but goes above and beyond. Our pitch has not suffered due to the bad weather like in previous seasons and the playing surface has improved beyond recognition. Thanks, in part, to funding from the Premier League Foundation, we carried out a lot of work during pre-season to ensure we have the best playing surface possible, which in turn matches our playing style. Special mention to Shaun Sadler and Dan Wilson, directors at UTS for their work, knowledge, and funding in helping us achieve this goal. 

Our sponsors are vital to the future of the club, and we would not be playing at the level we do without them. Running a club is an expensive task and costs continue to increase. We need to continue to bring new sponsors into the club. We still have plenty of opportunities for sponsorship around the ground and behind the scenes for anyone that would like to get on board during these exciting times. Our media team is exceptional for promoting your company across all our social media channels. We need to use the facilities that we have more, utilising our clubhouse for events throughout the weeks and months and not just on a match day. If you’re looking to hold an event, give us a shout!

Finally, to our fans. We need you and we need you to bring a friend (or two, or three) along to our home games and events. Food at the cabin is great, it’s a cheap and lovely pint, our club shop and can bar are always fully stocked and the football is well worth a watch. We’ve proved when we were in the play-offs last season, and big cup games, you can come out in numbers.

Get yourself along and enjoy the atmosphere. We have a growing band, excuse the pun, of young ones watching us home and away. You are our future. Bring your drums and make some noise!

The club has always had a great base to work on with great people. We are constantly striving to fulfil and further stretch our goals and want a safe, sustainable, and progressive club that we want all of the North East community to be part of.

Here’s to a great 2025 and follow us on a journey throughout this season and beyond."

Tony Cleugh