PORTLAND United chairman Robin Satherley has said the club must not “let their hearts rule their heads” after winning the Sydenhams Wessex Premier Division title.

Despite being crowned champions, Satherley, whose side did not apply for promotion to the Southern league this season, is adamant that the Blues need to build slowly if they are to be sustainable as a successful team.

He said: “Although we’ve won the league, we’re not going for promotion, that is common knowledge.

“There are still things to be put in place in the jigsaw at Portland.

“One of the biggest reasons is the financial stability of the club.

“The club is very stable at the moment, but to start moving up with the likes of Hereford, Salisbury and Tiverton who have been in the league above this season, it would be asking a lot of Portland United.

“The Wessex League is littered with clubs from higher leagues who have come down due to financial problems, and we don’t want to make that same mistake.

“Finances would have to be greatly increased. Although our gate receipts are excellent, we’d still need to take a lot more money if we are going to sustain players that would require additional expenses, and so we’ve decided that’s not for us this season.

“I’m not going to say never, we don’t know, but at the moment we’re content to stay in the Wessex League and get ourselves to become a permanent fixture in this league and then see where it goes from there.”

Although the club will not be competing at a higher level next season, Satherley emphasises that work is underway to build towards a successful future.

He said: “There’s lots of things to do at Portland yet, we still need some work done on the ground, we need more seats in our stands, we need to produce another block of toilets that’s separate from our clubhouse and turnstiles would have to be fitted, so we have plenty to do to keep us busy at the moment without worrying about jumping into a bigger pond.

“We have to be careful not to let our hearts rule our heads, it’s as simple as that.

“We’ve got to keep the club on a firm financial footing, I can’t emphasise that enough as the chairman, and everyone knows that.”