Spartans supporting our troops

Regular viewers of Sky Sports' Saturday morning show "Soccer AM" will be aware of a feature they run showing photographs of our armed forces wearing the shirts of the teams they support. On a regular basis Spartans receive requests for shirts from our armed forces and the club always tries to accommodate as many of these requests as possible. One such request this week was made a priority by the club.

We received a letter from Sergeant Mack, who is originally from Newcastle but is now serving in Afghanistan. He asked for a Spartans home shirt but not for his own use, he wanted to auction off the shirt with all proceeds going to the "Help for Heroes" charity. So a Spartans home shirt signed by the first team squad and coaching staff is currently winging its way to the Middle East and we will let you know how much it raises for an amazing charity.

The club also has a long running association with the British Royal Navy vessel HMS Blyth. This week Spartans received a letter of good wishes from Commanding Officer Tim Davey, wishing Tommy and the team the best of luck for our FA Cup campaign this season. He also mentioned that the Blyth Spartans flag that is flown from the mine hunter vessel was in poor condition.

So the club have arranged for a replacement Spartans flag to be sent to the crew of HMS Blyth and we are delighted to announce that due to the long running relationship of the club and the vessel, the Royal Navy continue to give permission for the Spartans flag to be flown whilst the crew are on duty.

Spartans General Manager Ian Evans said "The club are delighted to be supporting our armed forces in these difficult times. The request from Sergeant Mack was one that we simply had to grant given the selflessness shown in raising funds for a very worthwhile charity. Anyone connected with the club is aware of our long standing relationship with HMS Blyth and the crew have visited Croft Park on many occasions. We are very proud and honoured that our club flag will be flying high whilst our brave troops are on duty on the ship".