CLITHEROE RUFC are preparing for the most important close season in their 24 year history.

For the club is undergoing a dramatic face-lift which chairman Andrew Thornber believes is the most significant step since it was formed in 1979.

Work has already begun on a new clubhouse and changing rooms which will open up a whole new chapter for the North Lancs League Division Two side.

Thornber is hoping work will be complete for the start of next season in September which should also herald the return of the Clitheroe Cavaliers Second XV and The Clitheroe Buccaneers youth set-up.

"These are exciting times for the club both on and off the pitch. We have always prided ourselves on being a family club but at the moment this is no place for our wives, partners and children.

"We have had to make do with Portacabins as a makeshift clubhouse for a long time and have been using changing rooms which have been in a serious state of disrepair. But all that will change in September."

The new look club will also be the new home of Clitheroe netball and hockey clubs. And Clitheroe is also in talks with the council to hire out the clubhouse for local community events.

"We want this to be a club for the whole community and bringing the netball and hockey here underlines that. Parents will soon be able to watch their children playing from the comfort of a new clubhouse. That is something we have always been aiming for.

As well as the 150 capacity clubhouse and four new changing rooms, the club is building two new netball courts which can also be used as hard court training for the rugby sides. Thornber said that one of the most significant aspects of the scheme will be the return of second team and youth rugby.

"Our lack of facilities means a steady stream of local talent has migrated away to other clubs around the region. Hopefully that will stop now and we can attract more players to the club.

"To be successful, it is vital to have a second team and a flourishing youth set-up. The second team has been hit and miss in recent seasons purely because of the set-up."

He added: "We will now be making sure we work hard in training during the summer to make sure we have a team equal to our new surroundings."

Captain Matt Dugdale also believes the new clubhouse will attract new players to Little Moor. He said: "At the moment we have one or two youngsters who get the odd game for the first team. Ideally it would be great to get a second team going where we can blood the youngsters alongside some of the old heads.

"The new set-up should go a long way to attracting players to the club. For the rest of us, it will be great to use nice changing rooms after having to put up with dilapidated facilities for the past couple of years."