Chairman Lee Carter hopes “normal” service will be resumed as AFC Telford United go up against Blue Square North leaders Droylsden on Saturday.

Carter has been concerned by a drop in home gates to around the 1,500 mark so far this season, down from an average of over 1,800 in recent years.

And, in a proactive bid to do something about it, the club have distributed 4,000 free tickets to schoolchildren across the borough.

“I would hope we’re touching 2,000 on Saturday, but we’re not getting carried away,” said Carter.

“It’s the first home league game since we distributed all the free tickets and, with it being an attractive fixture against Droylsden, I’m hoping we’ll see something like what we deem to be a normal crowd here.

“I think there are a number of reasons why gates have been down, not least the economic climate, but we’ve tried to act on it in a positive way.”

Encouraging

Carter also believes a larger crowd could have a knock-on effect in terms of encouraging the team to what would be a big victory against the division’s early pace-setters.

“Hopefully those 4,000 tickets, even if just 10 per cent of them are taken up for Saturday, will make a

fantastic difference to this football club,” he added.

“The players like to play in front of a big crowd as well, and I think we could just have turned a corner in terms of our form so it’s a good chance to get one over Droylsden.”

l Former AFC Telford youngster Matty Wood,

who came through the

club’s youth system and reached the fringes of the first team, has today gone on trial with League Two side Rochdale.

Wood was released by the Bucks at the end of the 2007/08 campaign and spent last season with UniBond League outfit Colwyn Bay, helping the Welshmen reach the play-offs.

He joined Curzon Ashton in the summer, where his form has seen a number of scouts keeping a close eye on his progress.