ACCRINGTON Stanley chief executive Rob Heys has admitted that the club may have to leave the Crown Ground if they are to pursue ambitions to make further progress in the Football League in the years to come.

Stanley chairman Ilyas Khan last year voiced his intention to bankroll a new stadium for the club as they bid to run on a more self-sustainable basis following financial problems in the past two seasons.

The Reds moved into the Crown Ground in 1970 but it is widely regarded as the least glamorous ground in the Football League and Heys says it could be difficult for the club to progress further at their current home.

Stanley narrowly missed out on promotion to League One this season and even have ambitions of making the Championship one day, and a new stadium could be part of that vision – even if it remains only an idea at this stage.

“It’s something you don’t want to get too carried away with because it’s obviously three, four or five years away at the earliest you would imagine,” said Heys.

“But it is something that Ilyas has obviously recognised we need in order to compete and the facilities where you can bring money in not just on a matchday.

“That’s the successful model everyone’s adopting now and it makes sense for us to follow suit.

“We’ve done well, we could have been playing League One football this year and hopefuly look to build from that “Looking ahead, this ground has served us well but if we have ambitions of reaching the Championship and who knows beyond at some stage, and you never know, then we do have to look at other options.”