THORNABY FC Women are excited to put a turbulent summer behind them on Sunday when they kick-off a season they once feared would never arrive.

The Blues head to Bishop Auckland FC Ladies in the Adobe Women’s FA Cup first qualifying round with a strengthened squad and lofty ambitions.

It is a far cry from the beginning of June when it seemed the women’s team at Teesdale Park would be axed following a controversial vote by the former board to drop the female teams.

The fall-out was huge and Thornaby Women’s situation gained support from Lionesses Beth Mead and Jill Scott, among others, and were thrust into the national media spotlight.

But the club recovered. A new-look board being led by CEO Alison McGee and husband John McGee, the managing director of critical power infrastructure specialists Durata, stepped up to help a club in crisis having been the sponsors of the women for two years.

Former Middlesbrough assistant boss Claire Streeter, who co-manages the Women alongside Abbey Lyle, said: “We can’t wait. We have had a really positive pre-season after everything that happened.

“We have strengthened the squad in certain areas from last season and after a third place finish, we want to try to improve on that next time around.

“There’s no denying the whole saga was unsettling for a couple of weeks but the whole of the football community got behind us and we ended up with some positivity from it all.

“Our relationship with the men’s team has grown from strength to strength over the last few weeks. We are supporting each other to be as successful as possible as Thornaby FC.”

Thornaby FC, who start their North East Regional Women’s League season a week later at home against Chester-le-Street, have signed a number of new players including defender Abby Robson from Middlesbrough FC.

And newly-appointed director of football Andy Campbell, the former Boro and Cardiff striker, said:  “We want to achieve success at this club, for the men and women. We want to be as high as we possibly can over the next couple of years.

“I am quietly confident about the women. They have been successful, worked hard with recruitment, pre-season fixtures, training and style of play.

“They want to be successful. We need them to be if we want to be as successful as we want this club to be and it all starts on Sunday.”

The extra strength in depth this year gives Streeter and Lyle options that they didn’t have before and the Blues would love to start well in the FA Cup against a team in their division.

Streeter, who knows Thornaby face Guisborough or Cramlington in the next round if they progress, said: “We’d love to get a bit of a FA Cup run going. We can only focus on what is in front of us and Bishop will be tough opposition. But we want to start the season well.”