Braintree Town chairman Lee Harding admits is will take the better part of half a million pounds to upgrade the Avanti Stadium for a move into the Football League.

While the Iron’s players are placing the club in the heart of the Vanarama National League play-off race, intense work is going on behind the scenes to prepare for a possible move up.

Braintree’s 1-0 win against leaders Cheltenham Town kept manager Danny Cowley’s team of part-timers fifth in the table ahead of their Good Friday home game against Bromley (kick-off 3pm) and Easter Monday’s trip to Aldershot Town.

And it means dreams of a top-five finish at the end of the campaign are looking more real than ever.

That position has seen the club make an application to join the Football League for only the second time in its history.

But while Harding admits that it would be costly to meet Football League ground criteria, he has praised Braintree Council and Essex County Council for the support they are giving the club.

“My best guess is that we are talking about the best part of half a million pounds,” he told the Braintree and Witham Times.

“But we are entitled to grants and, heaven forbid, if we did get to the Football League, there would be a significant uplift in central funding (from the league) compared to being in the National League. There is a bit of work to do, but we are on it.

“Over the course of the last few weeks, we are just very pleased with the progress that we are making.

“Fair play to Dan and Nick (Cowley) as they are keeping everyone’s feet on the floor, whether that is in the dressing room or the board room. They are looking at twos and threes of games and setting ourselves little targets.

“It will be great picking up that little run that we’ve got going and keep the average of two points per game going because if we can do that then we will be well clear of where we need to be to start dreaming of the play-offs.

“There is a lot of work ahead and we have some tough games, but we are in a good position."