Postcard from... Macclesfield

If you support Macclesfield Town, everyone else is a glory-hunter. The Coca-Cola League Two club avoided losing their Football League status on the final day of last season. Within weeks, Paul Ince, the former England captain, had left Moss Rose to become manager of Milton Keynes Dons and Macclesfield were back to square one.

The 20-minute walk from Macclesfield railway station to the club's compact ground tells you everything you need to know about why supporting The Silkmen is a labour of love. Stop at any junction and within a minute someone in a replica football shirt will walk past you. However, almost every shirt is red and has Rooney on the back.

"There is nothing we can do about being 20 miles away from Manchester United,” Patrick Nelson, the chief executive of the Cheshire club said. “The only way we are going to attract new supporters is by being successful on the pitch. We are making progress, we have a plan and we’re confident that Ian Brightwell, our new manager, can carry on the good work.”

Nelson does not have much in common with other football club chief executives. If you telephone Macclesfield, he will probably answer your call. If you turn up at Moss Rose to buy a ticket, he will show you round the ground and take your cash, and if you are shopping in the town centre on a Friday, you will see him manning a stall with a view to drumming up interest in the club.

Nelson’s dedication to the club is absolute and even in their darkest hour — when the team were seven points adrift at the foot of the bottom tier last October — he came up with the goods by replacing Brian Horton with Ince.

“We were delighted to get Paul, but we always knew that he wasn’t going to stay for very long because he is very ambitious,” Nelson said. “If it wasn’t for him, we wouldn’t be kicking off the season in the League.”

Ince will be back at Moss Rose in 12 days for Macclesfield’s first home league game of the season — against MK Dons — and Nelson is confident that he will receive a warm welcome.

“We are delighted that he is coming back so soon and it will be a great day,” Nelson said. “Let’s just hope that the only thing he leaves with is a nice cup of tea.

KAVEH SOLHEKOL