North Village may be proudly atop Bermuda's soccer tree at the moment, but their ambitions do not lie soley on the pitch.

The Red Devils took over the coveted number one spot at the weekend thanks to a 1-0 victory over bottom-placed Southampton Rangers.

And they are hoping that top rank status will not just be confined to their team of footballers, but to their home ground as well.

North Village Community Club president Shervin Dill has recently overseen the installation of fencing around the Bernard Park pitch and is heavily involved in the drawing up of plans for a new clubhouse.

The fencing was actually planned long before the recent referees' strike, where the safety of officials and players was top of the agenda following a string of unsavoury incidents at the start of the season.

But it fits in nicely with the way both Bermuda Referees' Association and the Island's Football Association believe grounds should look in the modern era.

Fans cannot now invade the pitch as easily as they used to do and there are gates separating the changing areas from parts of the ground used by spectators.

On the building front, the club presently just have a grey slabbed affair on the side of the pitch which houses basic changing rooms for home and away teams and officials.

But Dill said he hoped that within a couple of years to be able to witness the opening of a purpose-built facility on the site.

Explaining the recent changes and outlining his plans for the future, Dill said: "Our previous president requested some assistance from the Department for fencing and prior to the season starting they readily said they would assist us.

"It went a bit over the budget that we had because we introduced some additions, but for the most part it was just about fully funded.'' BFA President, Neville Tyrrell, witnessed the work first hand when matches got underway again two weeks' ago, and he was not the only one impressed by the work, Dill said.

"Everyone is very happy. It has added quite a bit of security and character to the field.

"There's been nothing but positive reactions. Everyone that has seen it has given very positive comments about it,'' he said.

Dill said he appreciated not all grounds on the Island could carry out similar work for either financial or practical reasons, but he felt they should at least take some aspects on board.

"I think it could be a role model for other grounds,'' he said. "It's something that needs to be considered at least by the remainder of the clubs and if it's feasible for them to do it then so be it.'' Plans for a focal point for the club were muted as long ago as 1997, when an application for a clubhouse was made to the planning department.

But apart from the changing area, no further work was carried out. That was all about to change, Dill said.

"That is a major project, it's over one million dollars and we are looking to have it done within the next two years,'' he said.

"We are looking to build a clubhouse that is going to facilitate our programmes. We have got some plans on the table. We have been to the Government, we have been to the banks and they have given us some ideas and concepts as to how we can get started.

"The funding is obviously a major consideration, but we do have a plan on the table. I'm not in a position to go into too much detail...but we've had some input as to how we are going to able to do it.'' Dill, who took over the presidency earlier this year, said he was happy in his new role despite the odd headache.

"I'm enjoying it, it's certainly a challenge. I've been here since August 23 and the worst of it has been the violence that was part of the initial start of the soccer season,'' he said.

"But we are trying to put that behind us and we are trying to present all the positive aspects of soccer.

"The fencing is just one aspect. We are saying we are tired of the violence and we just want to get on with the game and get the best out of it.'' Village visionary: North Village president Shervin Dill is all smiles as he savours the fact his team are top of the Premier League and looks forward to overseeing some grand plans for the club's surroundings.