PICKERING Town manager Rudy Funk is delighted to see his plans for the future of the club “moving drastically in the right direction”.

Funk outlined his new approach - which encapsulates everything from providing more opportunities for the younger generation to offering free tickets to care home residents - at a meeting at the club last month, and has been overwhelmed with the positive response from the local community.

As such, a new social media co-ordinator will be starting at the club this week, with a range of local talent also expected to report for pre-season training.

“Everything is geared up to bring the community closer together,” he told the Gazette & Herald.

“It’s been a very hectic and busy time for us at the club with lots of meetings and involving so many people.

“But it’s a pleasure to be able to do it here in Pickering and my ultimate goal is to be able to provide the community with a team to be proud of.

“I think that everybody is looking forward to it.

“Everything is really positive so far, and as a club, it’s our job to try and do something for our people.”

Funk is quick to admit that its success thus far has been a team effort, with Pickering Town Community Interest Company’s Carrie Blackstone playing an integral part.

Inspired by the charismatic manager at the club’s aforementioned meeting, she described Funk as a “terrific asset” to Pickering, and has been dipping into her large book of contacts to help the club to forge new relationships across the local community.

Feeling as though the club had been largely separated from the town over past years, she enthused her excitement to be able to create a buzz around the town on matchdays.

“I think that Rudy is fantastic for our town,” she admitted. “He has so much passion and enthusiasm, it’s infectious.

“He is a breath of fresh air and I think that football can be a really powerful tool to bring us all together in Pickering.”

“Joining up the dots from the council to the football club, local schools and the marketplace, it can only help the town.

“A lot of what he was saying was also our vision for the town, and we’re all really behind him.”

Fans will not have to wait long to see Funk’s side return to action, with four friendlies scheduled across July ahead of the new Toolstation Northern Counties East premier division season, which kicks off on Saturday, July 29.