THERE was an empty chair at the centre of a packed meeting of Northwich Victoria supporters last week, kept out of respect for my father Derek Nuttall, who had sadly and suddenly passed away the day before at the age of 89.

He was president, chairman and secretary at the time and had spent a lifetime supporting and working for the Vics in every capacity.

In his last few days, he was continuing to work tirelessly to try to secure the future of the club, along with other dedicated fans.

On behalf of my family, I would like to thank the Greens’ supporters, players and managers past and present, and the rest of the football world, for the outpouring of kind words and condolences on social media following his death.

It has been a great comfort to us and a fine tribute to his decades of service to the sport and the Trickies.

However, the fact remains that there is a major challenge for it to be maintained as a going concern for the rest of the season.

The best tribute to my father would be the survival of NVFC, which he had fought for over so many years.

I hope the town of Northwich, and Vics fans everywhere, can show a level of support to keep their local club going.

This can be as simple as coming to the game and cheering on the team when Saturday comes, beginning with our next home match against Newcastle Town on October 29.

My father’s funeral is at Witton Church on Monday at 12.45pm and we welcome all who wish to pay their respects.

Come on you Greens!

Chris Nuttall