Good afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls and welcome once again to krbs Priestfield for today's much anticipated match with Leeds United.

For me, Tuesday night's fixture with Brighton and Hove Albion typified everything that is right about our football club, spirit, character, determination, fight and aggression. The match was a great advertisement for the Football League and a fine example of the quality on offer at this level. Many of the neutral friends that attended the game with me were highly impressed with the standard of football and the commitment of both teams. Brighton came and made a real game of it and deserve their share of the credit too.

The performance of our team was excellent, particularly in the second half, and was matched only by the exceptional backing from our supporters. I cannot let the night's events pass without commenting on the superb encouragement that you gave Alan Julian, it was a spectacular penalty save to secure our point but he must have felt twice the size with all the motivation he was getting from the Rainham End. It made for a great evening's football and on balance the draw was probably a fair result given the number of chances both teams created.

The only disappointing part of the evening was to lose another centre-half with Josh Gowling suspended for two games, just days after losing Garry Richards to an ankle injury at Millwall. If there is one thing that this season will be remembered for it must be the injury curse that has struck our central defenders, we certainly seem to have got through a serious number of them this season, and surely we can't be this unlucky again next year.

Voting cards have already begun flooding with your Player of the Year nominations, if you have not yet voted, your completed forms must be returned to the club by 5pm on Saturday May 1^st so don't delay. There are still tickets available for the Player of the Year Night event on May 8^th, if you haven't already booked your place, contact our commercial team on 01634 350350.

As you will see in the centre of your programme, we have chosen to launch our season ticket prices for 2010/11 today. Unfortunately I don't have the benefit of a crystal ball, and if we were honest, none of us would choose to be in the position that we are in, but at least our future in this division is in our own hands and not in the hands of others. With just four games remaining this season, that is a big bonus.

In my view the finances for League One and League Two are very similar, in so far as income is concerned and I have therefore decided that we should have a League One/League Two pricing structure, which will remain the same irrespective of which division we are in. After much deliberation and baring in mind the current financial climate and the difficulties that the world has thrust upon many people, I have decided to keep our pricing at League Two rates, regardless of where we end up.

We are fortunate that, despite the downturn in economies, we have always maintained a healthy level of season ticket holders and I very much hope that continues into next season. There has been a huge amount of work done behind the scenes over the past four years on the club's finances and we are close to reaching a satisfactory conclusion that will set the club on a stronger financial footing than at any point in the last 15 years. I think it's fair to say that the benefit of all this work has not filtered through on to the football side this season but there is no doubt that it will do over the seasons ahead. Once I am able to explain the benefits of this financial restructuring in more detail, I believe that most supporters will realise that the club is heading in the right direction.

This year we can proudly boast one of the best home records in the entire Football League and have conceded only one goal more than Manchester United and Newcastle this season but, ironically, Hull City are the only club to boast a worse away record. Given that our duck is going to be broken at some point; my money is on the win coming at Norwich away! Our best performances of the season have come against the sides at the top of the table and therefore today's encounter and, indeed, that against Southampton in two week's time, promise to be sensational occasions. The scoreline at Elland Road earlier this season flattered Leeds, given our performance, and we will all be looking to leave Priestfield with maximum points this afternoon.

I would like to welcome my good and dear friend Ken Bates to Priestfield and I hope he enjoys our hospitality. Finally, a reminder that current season ticket holders have until 5pm on May 1^st to renew at our exceptional super saver rates so don't delay. Enjoy the match and keep Priestfield rocking.