Malvern Town Chairman Chris Pinder is glad to see the town “come together” after Lee Hooper’s men achieved promotion to the Southern League Premier South.
The Hillsiders ran out the 3-2 winners in the Southern League South Division playoff final against Shaftesbury. With Joe Bullock, Harry Clark and Sam Clark all on target to promote Hooper’s men to step three for the first time in the club’s history.
Pinder is still riding the high one week later, feeling the pride around the club radiate on to the town.
“The town is just on a high from all being together, packed into the stadium, and you can see from the photos just how happy everyone is. At the minute, life is hard for everyone across the country for a lot of people at the moment, and with the cost of living, so it was really good to see the people have something to celebrate.”
Chair Pinder took over the club in 2013 as part of a consortium with his business partner Ted Grizzell. The club was riddled with debt, and Pinder decided at the last minute to take on what was then the step-six side. Pinder recounted how the club must remember its roots on what has been an uphill journey.
“I wasn’t thinking of this level at all really (step three). I was thinking of competing at the level we were competing at, the level we were in, and that was step six, playing in the West Midlands Regional League, playing in some pretty rough places like Dudley and Bilston. At that time none of the players were getting paid, and I thought my investment would just be something like a new kit, redecorating the clubhouse, fixing the plumbing and the electric, that sort of thing.”
Although he’s been taken further than he thought he would have been through his journey with Malvern, Pinder is all but too happy to share Malvern’s success off the pitch.
“I never dreamt that come 2026 we’d have a 3G pitch or a new stand in development and be playing in front of 2000 people.”
The small picturesque town will now be in a league with some historic footballing sides such as Havant and Waterlooville, Poole Town and one that most fans are excited about against Gloucester City. The promotion will also see the side take a trip to Evesham, who defeated Malvern in the 24/25 playoffs with a 1-0 win for the Robins.
“It’s crazy; I mean, from Gloucester’s perspective, they have a really nice stadium. It just goes to show that it’s something we actually admire. We admire their infrastructure, and it gives us some exciting away games, so it’s going to give us motivation and keep us improved in our stadium and in our setup to try and be more like them. We’re going to be the little guys in the league with the little stadium, and I’m going to enjoy being the underdog instead of the favourites, which I found a lot this year.”
Pinder is excited for the challenge, but he insists that the club will not get too big for its boots.
“We’re going to have to reframe what success looks like for the club. Success last season was the playoffs, which we won, but success for us next season is going to be keeping our head above water in the new league.”
Pinder was asked ‘about comfort’ in football, something he’s never felt according to himself.
“Comfort is an emotion you don’t really feel in football. Because even if you’re in mid-table, you feel a pressure to invest more so you become better, but in the league above, if we were to finish 10th, that would be a hell of an achievement, but also finishing a point above the relegation zone would also be a hell of an achievement.”
