YORK City’s scrappy 2-0 weekend win over Woking wasn’t pretty, but it was effective. It typified the solid start Colin Walker’s men have made to the new season. Walker himself described it as “the worst we have played all season”.

But as the cliché goes, it takes a good side to scrape out a win when playing poorly.

On the field, then, York City is doing well. Off the field, sadly, plans for a new super-stadium in York to provide a home both for the Minstermen and York City Knights have run into trouble.

Sources at the Guildhall have revealed that increased construction costs and a fall in the value of KitKat Crescent could lead to a sizeable shortfall in the stadium’s budget. The exact size of this shortfall is unclear, but it stretches into the millions.

A thriving professional or semi-professional football club is a vital part of any community. Its importance stretches way beyond the hard core of supporters who turn out to away matches in Kidderminster in the pouring rain.

A good local football club – which is what York City is – can be a source of pride, affection, heartache and even of backs-to-the-wall humour. It shouldn’t be forgotten either that both the Minstermen and York City Knights, who will share the new stadium, have between them done a huge amount of community work, coaching and encouraging young people across the city.

We need this new stadium – not only for the sake of the two clubs involved, but of the whole community.

The Football Foundation, which is putting up a £2 million grant towards the cost of the new stadium, has already shown willing by giving York City a dispensation when the club failed to meet the initial deadline of last December to identify a site. But we cannot continue to rely on its goodwill for ever.

All parties involved must now work together, fighting for a full and sustainable package of funding to be put in place. York needs its stadium dream.