Brand new Rooks feature launches this week

The atmosphere is really buzzing down at the Pan these days as Lewes enjoy their highest-ever league position as they go head-to-head with their East Sussex rivals Eastbourne Borough in the battle for automatic promotion to the Blue Square Premier.

With the average gate steadily rising (850 fans at the last home game) and the impressive improvements to the Pan, the county town is now well-established as a major player on the non-league scene.

In less than a decade the club has risen from obscurity and the threat of closure to a lofty position in the football pyramid that the board of directors couldn't have dreamed of when they put together their rescue package.

In this new column you'll not find first team match reports. Instead we want to put across all kinds of news and views from fans, the management team, and all those 'behind the scenes' volunteers who do so much to help make Lewes the ongoing success it is. Your contributions are very welcome.

Congratulations to our Blue Square South rivals Havant & Waterlooville for their fantastic run in the FA Cup, culminating in being in the lead not once but twice against Liverpool at Anfield. What a truly brilliant feat; so maybe it's a bit churlish of me to remind readers that just a few days after Christmas, the Mighty Rooks put three goals past H&W without reply. Still, it had to be said!

The players are delighted with the new sound system at the Dripping Pan; they love the music as loud as possible when they come out onto the pitch.

The trouble is the sound is too loud for fans in certain parts of the ground '“ and not loud enough for others in the farther-flung corners.

David Arscott likes to enjoy his football from a seat in the main stand.

He raised the matter of the sound levels after the game against Havant and kept his comments nicely tongue in cheek when he said, "Most of us aren't teenagers who think the world's gone dead if a din isn't shaking our ears about. I'm sure it's not intentional '“ unless, of course, you only do it t'annoy because you know it teases'¦"

Kevin Anderson, of Southern Counties Radio, identified the problem as a mismatch between speech and music levels. Kevin was our pre-match and half-time announcer for the next home game, against Hampton & Richmond, and acoustically things improved. So what technical magic did he weave? "I turned down the master volume on the music."

So the sound problem was greatly eased. Trouble was, the lack of morale-boosting volume clearly had an effect on the Mighty Rooks as they went on to surrender their season-long unbeaten home record! So, what next? Anyone know where we can lay hands on a job lot of ear defenders?

The main sponsor for tomorrow's home game against Bognor Regis Town (ko 3pm) is Baldwin Boxall, while the ball sponsor is Bone Clothing. On form, the match looks a banker to produce plenty of goals and a decent crowd so be sure you get there in good time.

Many thanks to Bill's (Bill Collison) for donating a generous hamper of fruit as one of the prizes in the raffles being held at each home game this season. It's a nice gesture from a hugely successful local business and appreciated by the club. If there's something you could do to help, and at the same time generate publicity for your own business or activity, give Steve White a call on 07793 404140.