Milton Road

City set for Southern League drop

Blue Square South club Cambridge City stand the unfortunate chance of being relegated to the Southern League in their centenary year after failing to meet the Football Association's ground requirements.

The Lilywhites are well into safety and lie 14th on the South standings, but their failure to upgrade the turnstiles and terraces at their Milton Road ground before the March 31st deadline could cost the club dearly.

However, City will argue they have legitimate reasons for failing to ensure the ground - which they won the right to remain at following a High Court battle last September - is a fit for a Category B National Ground Grading.

The club's director of football Rab Crangle told Cambridge Evening News: "We have had a letter from the FA stating we have not been awarded the Grade B ground grading following the deadline of March 31.

"But any suggestion the club will be demoted would be wide of the mark because we expect to appeal any decision under special dispensation rules which we filed for two weeks ago as we feel we have exceptional circumstances."

"We will now present our case to the FA and will expect to follow it through to a satisfactory conclusion as final decisions on the Conference constitutions will not be made until the AGM in June."

The Lilywhites will be awarded the chance to defend themselves and received the backing of the Cambridgeshire FA.

The CFA's chief executive Roger Pawley said: "We will help Cambridge City any way we can because we want our senior sides to remain in the highest leagues possible.

"As a county FA we will do our utmost to see what can be done."