THAME United have joined forces with Thame Boys to add weight to their bid to turn Church Farm into their home ground.

But while the council has agreed in principle to carry out a feasibility study on the site, Thame chairman Jake Collinge said that even if progress was smooth, the ground would not be ready for another two seasons.

Collinge, together with the chairman of Thame Boys, Tim Green, and Thame Boys manager and committee member Steve Meredith, met with the council on Tuesday evening to present the idea of United and Boys forming a football partnership' to develop the Church Farm site into a multi-pitch facility which both clubs would use as their home ground.

Collinge said: "By joining up with Thame Boys, we hope the council can see how Church Farm would safeguard amateur football in Thame for the next 100 years."

More than 350 children are currently on the books of Thame Boys, but a lack of facilities in the town means that some of their teams play home games in nearby Lewknor, and others in Oxford.

Collinge said: "What we were seeking at the meeting was an agreement in principle to carry out a study on the feasibility of our using the Church Farm ground.

"The council agreed to do this and we hope to hear their findings in the next two or three months.

"If they find in our favour, the next step would be seeking planning permission, and I don't know long that would take. How long is a piece of string? But even if things move forward, I can't see us returning to Thame for at least another two seasons."

Backing the idea is Head of Strategic Development at the Football Association, and Thame resident, Nigel Hargreaves.

Collinge said: "His direct boss in Trevor Brooking, so he's a good person to have on your side.

"But there are a lot of hurdles to cross. We could fall at the first one so we're not putting all our eggs into one basket and will continue to explore other possibilities."

In the meantime, Thame are considering their short-term options.

Extending the ground-share agreement with Aylesbury United is one possibility now the FA has backed United's proposal to lay down an artificial the Southern League is expected to follow suit.

But while the facilities at Aylesbury are good, it is not the cheapest alternative and with Thame on the verge of relegation out the Southern League, Collinge said other grounds were being considered for "financial reasons."

Meanwhile, Beaconsfield need to pick themselves up from Monday evening's Berks and Bucks Cup semi-final disappointment when they travel to Stourport Swifts today.

Simon Delahunty's side have lost their last two league games but will be confident of ending that sequence against the division's second-from-bottom team.

Swifts have not won since early February but held Becky to a 1-1 draw back in November.