THE multi-millionaire owner of East Thurrock United FC has spoken of his plans to take the club forward – to a new purpose-built ground on the edge of the local community – after relating how he saved the Corringham club from collapse.

More than a decade of success under the management of long time boss John Coventry and a backroom team saw the relatively new club reach the first round of the FA Cup twice and play for three seasons at the second-highest tier of non-League football but high profile personality Alfie Best says he inherited a troubled club when he took over in 2020.

In an interview with BBC Radio Essex Mr Best, 50, a Romany gypsy best known for his regular forays into tabloid newspapers and reality TV, including Ch4's My Big Fat Gypsy Fortune, told how the club known as 'The Rocks' was on the floor when he took over following the death in late 2019 of former owner Bennie Bennett.

He said: "The club was collapsing. Before we came along the club was closing.

"The gentleman that owned it had passed away, it had been left to his wife who had struggled to keep it afloat and then she committed to a deal. Those people who were purchasing it then pulled out of that deal because the Covid pandemic had set in."

Mr Best paid tribute to the interim work of local football legend Colin McBride, a long time friend of the bennett family, whose rich tapestry of success saw him manage Thurrock FC to great success and he has just steered his current club, AFC Hornchurch to the semi-finals of this season's FA Trophy.

The Rocks owner said: "This whole thing has a big effect on football and it's had a massive effect on East Thurrock and we have been supported and I have been supported by the local borough, by the local people and Colin who is overseeing the management of the club and has brought in a lot of the local community who have worked hard helping us get the club back in a fit state so it's usable.

"Never mind about being able to play football, I'm talking about screwing seats together and repairing seats so that people can use the grandstand and bringing the club back to life."

Mr Best, who created the fortune that has elevated towards the top of the Sunday Times Rich List and a luxury lifestyle beyond most people's dreams by investing in holiday and mobile home parks, says he is driven by a sense of community in East Thurrock.

He said: "For me football is more than just a game, it's actually a community spirit thing and because of the business that I'm in, anything that is community spirited holds a big part of what we try to do.

"It is a well-supported club within its local community. But it does need a lot of improvement. That's being done with financial support from us and the club will hopefully now reopen with government guidelines in April and May.

"We know we are at the bottom but we are confident that we can stay in the league and have a much better season next time round.

"We want to move the club and we want to move it to better facilities, there is no question about that.

"And we are actively looking for another ground to purchase. We want to purchase a freehold ground and the reason for that is that I would rather build a new stand that can work as a Chameleon type venture where we can then bring in concerts, boxing matches, and other types of sporting venue within the club, bringing well-need investment and sponsorship into the club."

Despite the problems of the pandemic Mr Best says this is a good time for a change.

"There is no such thing as a bad time. You never put your plans on a hold because something's thrown a curve ball at you.

"If we all did that we'd have all down tools and stop going to work.

"There is no point owning anything unless it has goals but I can't put those goals in place and won't put those goals in place until we are at the ground and people can really see it isn't just about welding seats together and painting the gates that didn't work or wouldn't lock

"The best thing to bring in is real good-qualified management. I'm not an expert but I know plenty of people that are.

"It's not about conquering the world in football, what it's about is having good support from people that realise that you care and it's not just about the football, it's about the community spirit. But the football keeps you together…"

Father-of-two Alfie, who was born on a Leicester roadside in a caravan to a poor Romany gipsy family, made his millions from a luxury trailer business which has sites all over the UK.

Mr Best says he is not just going to start things off and back away, he committed himself to being hands-on, saying: "There's no such thing as sitting back and let it flourish. There is always an amount of drive that you have to put there and it isn't just money.

"It's about passion. The money is just one part of it.

"I promise and I swear we will drive it forward.

"I would like to be in a new ground within the next 18 months. That's really dependent n two things. One, us locating the site and number two how many more lockdowns have we got to go through.

"The best place in the world where we have identified is on the edge of towns, on the edge of communities that have got a good road visibility because it makes the club more prominent and there are other levels that leads itself to.

"Like sponsorship which is so important to clubs because not only does it bring revenue in it shows that there is good support."

Within the new club structure there is also a sense of optimism. The club's first general manager, Phil Crowe, who was appointed last year says: "The future certainly looks bright for East Thurrock United for 2021 and beyond, and I look forward to working with chairman Steve Wiseman, club owner Alfie Best and the rest of the management team to take the club forward into a new era.

"Before Christmas I had the pleasure of spending some time coaching the five and six year old Future Rocks, It was great to see over 35 local children turn up and all play with a smile on their face, I would like to congratulate Faye Lambert and her team of coaches for setting up and running such a successful community programme.

"2020 was certainly a challenge in so many ways. When I came to the club back in March, its very existence was in doubt, but with lots of hard work and determination from a committed group we are looking firmly and positively to the future."

Anyone unfamiliar with the remarkable history of East Thurrock United, can find out all about it via this link which takes you to an updated version of the club's story by founder member and stalwart Terry Keating.