IT is a sad state of affairs for any football club when off-field issues overshadow the efforts of the team.

Boardroom politics and subsequent supporter unrest turn the spotlight away from the very essence of why clubs exist.

It has been the case for too long at Worcester City but the last week has been more chaotic than most.

Mixed messages from directors, the chairman’s leadership questioned, his predecessor’s resignation demanded by fans and the revelation St George’s Lane will be sold for under half the original reported value.

With all that has been going on, is it any wonder the game with league leaders Dover Athletic almost became an afterthought? How wrong is that?

It was refreshing to be able to concentrate on the football come Saturday afternoon. City not only defeated Dover 1-0 but matched them throughout.

So, amid all the behind-the-scenes antics, spare a thought for Richard Dryden, assistant manager Carl Heeley and the players. They need all the support they can get and have done well to remain focused on the present. Thankfully, they were rewarded with their best crowd of the season on Saturday.

Until recently, results have, on the whole, been poor but there are definite signs of improvement and beating one of the favourites for promotion is proof of that.

Next up is a mouth-watering FA Cup clash at AFC Telford and, after beating Dover, City should have every reason to believe they can triumph again.

The more success the team has, the more they will deflect the attention away from off-field matters.

Of course, we should not ignore the situation surrounding the club’s future — far from it — and the latest fans’ forum did not really move the sorry saga on.

We now know the club will get £3.5m for the Lane and need to sell up as soon as possible in order to pay off the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Whatever is left of that will be used to build a new stadium, now hoped to be along the lines of Fleetwood Town’s £2m three-sided redevelopment.

All this will be brought to a head in a meeting at Worcestershire County Cricket Club on October 20.

It remains to be seen where the club goes from there.