LITTLE Lye Town Football Club have launched a big appeal for people to come and support them in their push for promotion.

The Stourbridge Road side are currently playing at the highest level in their history after obtaining an unlikely promotion last season.

But support for the side has remained paltry to say the least this season with average crowds hovering around the 120 mark, a mere fraction compared to their more high profile neighbours - Stourbridge and Halesowen Town.

As a result of their rise up football's Non League ranks, the club have made significant improvements to their ground - but still the crowds don't come.

Baffled chairman Brian Blakemore admitted: "It's hard to know why we're just not attracting people to our games especially as we're still mathematically in with a chance of promotion again to Non League's third tier.

"We only just avoided relegation to Step 5 after Covid and had we not won a vital game against Boldmere St Michaels, we would have gone down.

"Nobody really expected us to get promoted last season. At one stage in October we were in the bottom two and if anyone had suggested promotion at that point, they would have been laughed out of town.

"But under our manager Grant Joshua, we went on a remarkable run of results to find ourselves where we are now".

Since then, the club have been obliged to keep pace off the pitch as well by installing new turnstiles, hard-standing around the ground and perimeter fencing coupled with a new toilet block on the ground together with a new press box.

Yet despite the improvements, Lye remain one of the worst supported sides in the Northern Premier League and last Saturday's crowd of just 105 against Coventry Sphinx was the lowest in the entire division by some considerable distance.

"What we're saying to people is please come and support us, " added Mr Blakemore. "At one stage of the season in early December, we were top of the table, but at the moment we've slipped outside the play-off places.

"If we could only get a big crowd for our remaining three home games, it could make a big difference to the players and help spur them on!

Lye host high flying Harborough Town next Tuesday (April 9) and then entertain another of their promotion rivals Loughborough Dynamo on Saturday April 13 before rounding off the season with a home clash against Cambridge City on April 27.