Boyhood dream come true as Mark Burton joins Mansfield Town board

Lifelong fan Burton joined the now eight-person board this week and is managing director of local company Ulyett Landscapes who have been specialising in grounds maintenance and landscaping for almost 50 years.

“John mentioned it to me a few weeks ago and asked me if I’d be interested,” he said. “We had a meeting and I accepted the challenge.

“I am extremely excited. It’s every boy’s dream to be involved in the club they support and now I am lucky to be on the board.

“I have been doing bits and bobs around the ground for five or six years, but I have been a fan from the age of seven or eight

“I am here to assist the ground staff and the new training facility we are hoping to build soon, as well as the existing training pitch.”

On the new training ground at Pleasley, he said: “We are still waiting on planning and a few bits of paperwork to come through.

“As soon as they come through we’ll be able to get started and get some pitches built. We will have three grass pitches and, in the future, a 3G pitch as well.

“Obviously I own Ulyett Landscapes, so we maintain a lot of football pitches and all sorts of sports pitches.

“We create new pitches for various building companies. We also do landscaping so I have a wide range of skills. The groundstaff here do a very good job so there won’t be any big changes. I am just here to assist them.

“If I can source materials a bit cheaper, that will cost the club less money, and use my contacts, it’s things like that I will be able to do. Everything can be improved and I am hoping to bring some improvements.”