NEW chairman Paul Hilton has set his sights on making Radcliffe Borough the talk of the town once more.

Boro reached the Northern Premier League Premier Division in 1997 and despite slipping straight back down, they returned between 2003 and 2007.

They also made their best FA Cup run in 2000, as far as the first round, before reaching the fourth qualifying round in 2002 and 2004.

Naturally interest has waned since Boro slipped back into the Evo-Stik First Division North, finishing no higher than 15th since 2010/11.

Hilton is determined to put that right this summer, though, after taking over the reins from Bernard Manning Jnr.

“The club needs to progress,” he said.

“Just over 10 years ago Radcliffe went on a journey through the leagues and enjoyed some good cup runs.

"They were getting crowds of more than 1,000.

“It's a good club with good facilities in a football community, and we're looking at ways of re-engaging with that community.

“There are around 35,000 people who live in Radcliffe and we want to tap into that again.

“We're going to be talking to local businesses and junior clubs to spread the word because there are some exciting times ahead.

“We know that City, United or Bury will be most people's first team around here but if we can make sure that we're everyone's second team then great, although hopefully we'll become the first choice for some new fans.

“We want to get people taking about us again and we think they will once they see what's happening at the club over the summer.”