Although these weren’t the circumstances I wanted to be making these comments in, I need to issue some thank yous now our league campaign has come to an end.

We are all bitterly disappointed to have been beaten in the play-off semi final last night at Shaftesbury - to come so close to promotion for the second season in a row but to come up just short yet again is a hard thing to take.

However, the campaign on the league front is now over for us and we have to take on the realities of our situation and plan accordingly for the future.

We still have two cup finals to play and we will be doing everything possible to try and bring back the Velocity Wessex League Cup and Hampshire Senior Cup trophies to The OnSite Group Stadium.

Once the season has been completed we will, of course, take the time to reflect on the 2023-24 campaign, review what has happened and then make our plans for next season with the same goals in mind in terms of what we want to achieve at this great club.

Regardless of last night’s result, these are exciting times at AFC Portchester and there are plenty of new developments being worked on which will continue to make this club the leader in terms of facilities and the standards set at this level.

We are currently working on a project which is extremely exciting for everyone involved with the football club and the wider community, and we hope to be able to share this with you all soon.

I’d like to express my sincere thanks to all of our supporters - especially those who made the trip to Shaftesbury in huge numbers last night.

Your backing of the club throughout the season has been nothing short of superb and you are a real credit to both us and the Portchester community.

I am sorry that we weren’t able to give you the outcome we all craved from the play-offs but you have my word that we will be doing everything we possibly can to achieve the promotion we are all desperate to secure in the 2024-25 campaign.

I would also like to say a huge thank you to all of our sponsors for their continued support throughout the season. We could not do what we do without your valued input to the club and you will continue to play a crucial role in what we are looking to achieve.

I’d like to also thank all of the players and coaching team. I know they will all be hurting right now but they all deserve enormous credit for getting us into the play-offs and two cup finals. They are more than capable of bringing these cups home now and they need our support and backing again to lift them back up and win the cup finals coming up.

As difficult as things feel after last night’s cruel defeat, we now need to lift ourselves and go again for the two cup finals coming up. We still have much to play for this season and there are still honours up for grabs that we would love to secure.

So with a few more weeks of the season to go, please continue with your backing and support for the club and we look forward to seeing you at The OnSite Group Stadium on May 6 for the Wessex League Cup final and at Aldershot Town FC on May 10 for the Hampshire Senior Cup final.

On behalf of everyone at the club, my thanks and appreciations to all of you for your backing and support and let’s keep it going for the two crucial matches coming up.

Paul Kelly - Chairman