Tom Elliott has been appointed as the new Chairman of Ballinamallard United Football Club. 
The long-time committee member has stepped up to the top position following the decision of previous Chairman Gordon Lee to stand down following the club’s relegation from the Premier League.
Tom is well aware that he is taking over at a time of transition for the football club, but he is ready for the task ahead. 
“It’s very challenging, but when is it not challenging?” he said. “People say it’s difficult because we went down, and so it is. There will be big changes around the club regards finance and gates, and you don’t have the big clubs coming, but we have been there before and we just need to knuckle down. We need to regroup and see what that brings. 
“Clearly we had a bad season last year. We lost Gavin (Dykes) with eight games to go and there has been some movement of individuals around the club, right the way from the youth section up to the senior team, and you can’t obviously hold on to all of that senior team going into the Championship. 
“That brings new challenges but what I want to do is make sure that we get some consistency and stabilisation into the club and hopefully something to build on.”
The drop from the Premier League to the Championship will impact the club from bottom to top, but the new chairman is far from downhearted. 
“Ballinamallard has always been a club that has gone the extra mile,” he said. 
“In the past they have taken chances to allow them to progress and I think that will always be the case and we will always want to push ourselves. 
“That is what we will do again this year. We are down a league from last year and we can’t have the same budget because we rely on gate receipts and sponsorship, and we don’t have a single big investor. We are going to take a hit, but it doesn’t matter what league you are in, you have to work with what you have and we have always done that.”
The first step to turning their fortunes around on the pitch was the arrival of Harry McConkey as manager, and the new boss came within a point of pulling off the great escape. The new chairman admits he is delighted that Harry has now agreed to lead the team as they start their season in the Championship. 
“I believe with Harry at the helm that will bring a significant boost to our club. It was a challenge for Harry when he came in with eight games left of the season. Then we had to convince him to continue in the role. In the end I know that everyone will say no one person is bigger than the club, and that is right, but I do think you need the right people in place and hopefully with Harry in place we have that.”
Despite having secured their number one choice for the manager’s position, the challenge lying ahead of the club is a steep one as they look to haul their way back into the top flight. The Championship this coming season is regarded as being stronger than ever before, and Tom is well aware that it will be a tough task to bounce straight back. 
“People need to be realistic that it is a tough league and we don’t have the same resources as some of the other teams, but that is the challenge for us,” he said. 
“It should be a very good league. There are some great teams with Portadown, Carrick, Larne with the big money, and loads of others. The challenge is to make sure we are up at the top with the other big teams. We will try to press ourselves as much as possible and give Harry and the team every opportunity to take that challenge on.”
With limited resources available, Tom is looking to return to the youth based philosophy that was the cornerstone of their promotion first time around. 
“As well as just the senior club we have our youth academy which is a huge development around the club,” he said. “It’s great to see so many young kids out there enjoying themselves and playing football and having that opportunity. Realistically, we know they are not all going to make the Ballinamallard first team but there is the
opportunity there to prove themselves, and maybe those players coming through the youth set up will have more opportunity now. You only have to look at the team and the squad that was built from 2002 onwards. We built our entire squad on those developing through the youth system, with only a few brought in. Clearly we have to go back to those basics.”