The Saturday Interview: Andrew Connolly

One day, you'll find him knocking down Manchester United.

The next, he's rebuilding Rossendale United.

But, when you're a strapping rugby player and a self-made millionaire, you can afford to do what the heck you want.

One thing was immediately clear when I wound my way through the mountains of rubble at his demolition works this week.

Whatever Connolly does, it tends to be a success.

Eighteen years ago, he quit college after a course in bricklaying to set up his own business, buying and selling reclaimed building materials off demolition sites.

Today, he is lord and master of his own company, employing a workforce of 30 who demolish anything from the scoreboard end at Old Trafford to the main stand at Aintree racecourse.

So it seems ironic that a man who makes a living out of destruction should save a football club from financial ruin.

But that's exactly what Connolly has done and his plans for Rossendale United are as big as the cranes and excavators which block out the light in his demolition yard.

Barely six months ago, United looked as though they were going to the wall.

Now they are talking about aiming for the Nationwide Conference.

"Within four or five years we are certainly looking to be playing in the UniBond Premier Division," said Connolly.

"But our long term goal has got to be the Conference. "I think that's a realistic possibility, I really do.

"It's like my work. Somebody has got to be the best, so why can't that be Rossendale United?"

Connolly's name has been more synonymous with rugby than football in Rossendale during the last 15 years.

But when he quit as club captain of the rugby team last season, he drifted into non-League football with Brent Peters at Bacup.

It was only after spotting a newspaper article that he was alerted to United's plight.

And, after paying Dark Lane a visit, he was quick to spot the huge potential of the club.

People tried to warn him off, claiming the club's constitution was too complicated for anyone to mount a takeover.

But he made a strong case to the shareholders at the AGM and they voted unanimously to allow him control.

"I just stood up at the meeting and said 'Listen, I'm not going to get involved in a power struggle but I am willing to come in here and pay off all your debts if I can have sole control.

"If I'm putting my own money in, then I want to have the final say.

"Then I just told them how I saw it."

Since then, Connolly has backed up the talk with hard cash and Dark Lane is unrecognisable from last year.

A corporate hospitality area, perimeter fencing, revamped dressing rooms and a plush new playing surface are just some of the transformations so far.

But that's only the tip of the iceberg. There are also plans to build a new indoor Astroturf centre adjacent to the ground which could be used by the whole community for a range of sports including hockey and netball as well as football.

And, though work is set to start on renovating the existing social club tomorrow, Connolly plans to replace it in three years time with a brand new structure, incorporating a sports injury clinic, a gymnasium, a members' bar, and a 200-seater function room overlooking the pitch.

They also plan to set up teams from under eights through to first team level.

And the overall goal is to turn the club into a facility which can be used by the whole community.

"Within the next two or three years I want to get everything right off the park," said Connolly.

"That's got to be our priority at the moment, to get an infrastructure in place before we start concentrating on the team.

"That includes the new clubhouse and training facilities.

"We are trying to get a lottery grant for a new indoor Astroturf centre.

"And that would be a community facility which schools could use during the day and we could use at night.

"I want to create a community club where we have teams from the age of eight up to first team level, because there's a lot of good youngsters in the valley and, if we can bring a few of them through, that would give me more pleasure than anything. "But, once it's all set-up, it all depends on how badly the community wants us to succeed as well.

"At the moment we've got pretty good gates of around 200, but five or six years ago Rossendale were getting four or five hundred.

"For us to make progress, we need people to get behind us."

That won't happen over night as Connolly does not possess a magic wand.

But he knows a man who does and he plans to hire him in a bid to attract more families to the club.

"We want to get to the stage where after the game we have two big rooms in the clubhouse.

"The kids will go in one half which will have entertainment on like a magician or a disco.

"And the adults will be able to go into the other half where they can have a drink.

"That way, everyone is happy.

"It's an idea me and my wife Sandra had.

"We've got three kids of our own and, when we went up to the club for the first time, I'm not saying kids weren't allowed in, but they were frowned upon for going into the club.

"We've got to involve the whole family if we want things to succeed."

The Connollys have taken that on board literally as Sandra is responsible for the day to day running of the club.

Connolly's meticulous attention to detail has stood him in good stead in the business world, where his firm is now recognised as one of the leading players in the demolition industry.

He has got where he is by building a sound reputation, always adhering to his granddad's old motto 'You're only as good as your last job'. And that won him a contract at Old Trafford, demolishing part of the East Stand in preparation for major redevelopment.

"That was one job where money didn't really come into it, it was all down to reputation," said Connolly.

"They knew we wouldn't let them down and now the project is a year ahead.

"We are working direct for United now and we've got work with them until after Christmas."

If it's good enough for Manchester United, it's good enough for Dale.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.