Jon McCarthy is proud of the progress Chester FC Community Trust has made in the past 12 months but recognises there’s more to be done.
Former Northern Ireland international McCarthy works as the Trust’s CEO alongside his position as first-team coach under Steve Burr
Club sponsors MBNA fund his community role and the 44-year-old has overseen significant improvements after a period of stagnation including successful soccer schools and outreach work.
Although he accepts there’s areas that can still be improved, McCarthy believes the Trust has made great strides and wants to keep the momentum going.
LOOK: Jon McCarthy's career in pictures
“In the past things hadn’t really been happening for various reasons and we’ve done a lot of work since last summer to get everything up and running,” said McCarthy, who gave up a job at Mid Cheshire College to work full-time for Chester.
“The big thing from our point of view is that more people are getting to know about the Trust and the club now.
“Football is our core vehicle so the soccer schools have been a big thing for us. We started off with 30 children and it’s been growing and growing.
“We’ve got some exciting plans for the summer and we’re going to have something happening everyday through the school holidays.
“We’re going to be working in Blacon, Lache, Kingsway and Broughton because we want to be across the city.
“We’ve started talking to a lot of different organisations about working together and we’ve got things planned with Cheshire FA and the NHS.
“We’ve done a little bit of work with schools too and that’s going to be an important area for us.
“There’s a lot more we can do but I think things have got a lot better and for me it’s very rewarding when people recognise that.”
