GREENOCK Wanderers are hoping to give a helping hand to local businesses after renewing their kit partnership with Smiths.

With the Covid-19 pandemic bringing all activities to a standstill in recent months, the Wanderers are keen to make a difference in the community by repaying the support given by local outlets.

Youth development officer Andrew Guthrie hopes that the kit deal can help to bring in vital extra cash for the club as it looks to bounce back from lockdown.

Andrew told the Tele: “We’re delighted to have renewed our kit partnership with Smiths.

"It's a bit of positive news for us at a time like this. It gives us a platform to bring in extra funds whilst we’re currently unable to bring in revenue from gate money.

“During this time, which is unprecedented, we were keen to help support local businesses.

“We’re keen to stick together as a town and obviously the club cannot operate at full capacity at the minute, so this is a step in the right direction for us and hopefully a continuation of a successful partnership for the Wanderers and Smiths collectively.

“There’s a lot of local businesses who support us and do a fantastic job helping out in whatever way that they can, especially with sponsored events, which are crucial to the success for the club if they are held on matchdays.

"We are keen to get as much of a family and community feel back around the Wanderers as soon as possible."

The agreement will see Smiths stock a range of products from socks to full kits, water bottles and kits bags.

Andrew said: “Some of the stock will be made available immediately both online and in store which is great for us.”

Guthrie revealed that lockdown has given club officials the chance to have a detailed look at the daily running of the club and see what steps needed to be taken to secure the Wanderers as an institution for future generations.

He said: “The lockdown has allowed us to take a step back and assess what was working or what wasn't.

“It’s given us an opportunity to see what we can do better, and as a result we’re focused on becoming even more of a family club now and will work to have a bigger presence in the wider community.

“We’re hoping that we can start to welcome more people through our doors on the other side of this, people who maybe haven’t been associated with the Wanderers before or haven’t been here for many years.

“There are so many good things going on around the club just now and deals like this help us move in the right direction."