Esendagli: I’m here to bring the club home

New Waltham Forest Chairman Turgut Esendagli has spoken to the press for the first time since his appointment, and has revealed his ambitious plans for the club.

Speaking to the Waltham Forest Guardian, he said: “I see the dream, I tell the dream and then I make the dream come true – that is my aim.”

“It is an emotional decision of course, a moral decision too because it is where the club belongs,” Esendagli said.

“I came to Britain in 1999 and although I didn’t have a natural feeling for Waltham Forest I have since developed a very strong feeling for the club.

“When they moved to Ilford I stopped going to their matches because by moving out of the borough they lost contact with their supporters.

“So I started to get involved with committee members at the club and that is what I am here for. To move the club back to its rightful home.”

Forest’s new chairman hopes the club can return to their home borough by the start of next season, and help push attendances up to “three figure numbers” again.

“Obviously things might be different once we start and see the reality because sometimes it looks a lot easier from the outside what you can achieve,” Esendagli said.

“I have been working in football for a long time and I know this is not just a plan that can be finished in two days.”

“There is a big potential of young players in the area and we need to bring the club back to its base to get the best out of those youngsters,” he said.

“That is my main intention – to give the best opportunities to young players in the area who want to play professional football.”

As part of this vision, Esendagli wants to install a club academy for all ages as well as develop a relationship with local colleges and schools.

Esendagli has revealed that he intends to invest in the team which will eventually mean the first-team players being paid, but not before the club has a stable grounding from which to build on.

“If we want to be a professional club, people need to deliver a professional result with quality and they have to be paid for that,” the chairman said.

“But first we have to improve the structure. If the shop window is not nice, people don’t walk in to see what you have inside.

“So we are looking forward to making the club stronger for next year and from then we’ll see what the future brings.”