For most teams in the lower leagues, pre-season can prove to be a very stressful and expensive time.Transfers are widely publicised but what some don’t realise is that clubs are forced to splash the cash outside of the market too.Teams up and down the pyramid are already preparing for next season, making sure the pitch and facilities are up to scratch, ready for August’s curtain raiser.This means some clubs are forced to spend thousands of pounds on new seating, toilets and pitch improvements to name a few.That is exactly what League One side Accrington Stanley are doing at the moment.

And chairman Andy Holt has been updating fans on the progress at the Wham Stadium this week via his Twitter account:

They even managed to find a horseshoe underneath the pitch:

Busy times at Accrington.

For clubs like Stanley, a little help can go a long way, especially when possessing one of the lowest budgets in their division.

And they’ll undoubtedly be grateful after receiving a classy gesture from Manchester City yesterday.

The Premier League champions gifted Accrington with free goalposts, saving them over £1000.

Just like City, Accrington have had a remarkable season too.

In what was their first season in League One after clinching promotion last term, John Coleman’s side finished 14th.

Accrington, who spent over a decade in League Two after climbing up through non-league, are also looking toward to having their first ever dedicated training facility in the near future too.

As for Man City, their donation comes amidst controversy surrounding their Champions League future.

The Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup winners were accused of breaking Financial Fair Play rules and La Liga president Javier Tebas recently claimed they are ‘ruining sport.’

However, nothing can be taken away from their donation and it will do wonders for Accrington’s summer budget and improvements to facilities this summer.