Kilbirnie Ladeside boss Martin Ferry says he is delighted that a start date has been given for the new West of Scotland Football League but admits there is a lot to sort out between now and kick-off.
Clubs in the new set-up have been given a provisional date of October 10 for when the new league campaign will commence.
However, the Blasties gaffer believes there are a few issues to sort ahead of next month’s start date.
He said: “It’s great to have a start date because we can now plan.
“As soon as the players returned from training the first question was when are we starting and no one knew the answer.
“As a manger it’s tough to plan training sessions when you don’t have a date to aim for but now we can work towards ensuring the players are ready for October 10.
“For me there are still issues to sort out as we don’t know how many games we are going to play especially given the situation.
“It’s a bit like piecing a jigsaw puzzle together.
“The other big issue is the return of fans - it’s not financially viable to play without them.
“It will depend on the size of grounds whether it is possible to socially distance and it would need to be policed well.”
He added: “I would certainly not want to play my first game without fans.”
The uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic has also had a knock-on effect on Ferry’s recruitment drive.
Ladeside lost the bulk of their squad from last season and the Blasties boss admits it’s not been easy to sign players in the middle of a global pandemic.
He said: “It’s been a big rebuilding job with around five retained from last season.
“It’s been interesting and pretty frustrating at times.
“You are phoning people up but not knowing when the season was going to start meant a lot of players were sitting back and not committing until a return date was sorted.
“So trying to convince a player to join a new team and not knowing when you are going to start is not ideal but every manager in the division is in the same boat.”
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