Before anything else, we would like to apologise to all supporters and retail customers that a number of items in the club shop will be unavailable in time for Christmas and we are sorry for any inconvenience and disappointment this may cause.

This season and now in particular, during this busy festive shopping period, we have witnessed an unprecedented rise in demand and sales of all products, coinciding with the team’s success on the pitch.

We can assure supporters that despite the disappointment of unavailable stock levels so far, every effort has been made to ensure items are available for you to buy. However, lead times on many items can be very lengthy which has made it incredibly difficult to predict the level of demand in this situation.

As an example, orders of next season’s replica shirts and training wear have to be placed in the very near future, without knowing exactly which league we will be competing in and our fortunes on the pitch can make a difference in demand of anything between two and six times the quantity.

However, you can be assured that our retail team have worked tirelessly to ensure that the shop will continue to receive new leisurewear and souvenir items between now and Christmas, and those who wish to shop for gifts can visit the store in Park Street or online.

A delivery of ladies’ replica home shirts, a restock of the extremely popular aqua training tees and warm-up jerseys, plus the new Christmas jumper has been made in time for Christmas.

Finally, we would like to advise supporters that the last guaranteed order for Christmas is this coming Friday, 15th December – and that the Park Street store will be open until 6pm for the next two Thursdays.

We fully understand how frustrating this can be and how it can be perceived as unprepared, however, we are happy to admit that the spike in demand brought about by our huge success has taken us hugely by surprise and is something out of our control.

We are looking at ways how these issues can be rectified or minimised going forward and thank you for your patience and loyalty.