New Halstead Town chairman Darren Mitchell wants the Humbugs to reach out beyond football and be a bigger part of the wider community.

He was unanimously voted in as interim chairman at a meeting of the club’s board this week following the decision by Jim Holder to step down from the role after 12 years at the Humbugs’ helm.

Mitchell, who lives in Halstead, has a long history of working with the club’s youth sides and has acted in various official roles with them over the past 11 years, said it would be a tough act to take over the reins from Holder.

However, he is looking forward to the challenges ahead and wants the recent momentum that has been built up by volunteers undertaking projects at the club and progress on the pitch to continue.

Mitchell said: “I have been part of the group who have been working at the club recently, looking to move us forward.

“We all share a dream to push the club on both football-wise and also non-football so it is a true community club.

“Things are very much based around the football at the moment, but that can make it difficult to thrive among the wider community.

“There’s been a will to do things but it has all fallen on a small number of people in the past, but we’ve tried to get more involved recently.

“I don’t know yet what it will be, but we now have the potential to do more.

“We have more than 200 kids signed on for youth football but in terms of parents being a part of the club, we don’t see enough of them.

“However, if we can draw more in and extended families as well, there’s the potential for a thousand-plus people getting involved.”