Altrincham’s plans for next season have been disrupted by the departure of Josh Lundstram after the key midfielder left The J.Davidson Stadium to sign for Oldham Athletic.

Lundstram’s drive and energy proved an integral part of Alty’s 2022/23 campaign after he joined the Robins on a full-time basis last summer, in the wake of an impressive loan spell with them a couple of years earlier.

Such was his impact, he completed a clean sweep of awards at the end-of-season presentation night, as the players, manager and supporters all named him as player of the year.

His outstanding form also had the inevitable effect of attracting admirers, with Oldham agreeing to pay the fee stipulated in Lundstram’s two-year contract and the 24-year old bolstering the Latics’ squad for the forthcoming National League campaign.

It is an undoubted blow for the Robins, but the club are delighted with recent progress on the recruitment front and hopeful of being able to announce several experienced and proven new arrivals who will strengthen the squad in key areas by the end of next week.

Alty are also on the brink of making history after revealing they are about to appoint their first-ever chief executive officer.

Explaining a move that follows in the footsteps of last summer’s transition to full-time football, co-chairman, Lawrence Looney, said: “We tried to bring in a chief executive last summer, but it didn’t go according to plan. By the end of last season, we decided we really did need a CEO to bring all parts of the club together, and we have budgeted for it.

“We have been through a rigorous process, starting with about 100 applicants and whittling it down to 19, all of whom were interviewed. It then became a shortlist of six, and we are now very close to hiring someone.

“It is a big milestone for us, and we are looking forward to changing the structure of the club and becoming more professional in how we do things off the field.”