Football could return to Yockings Park much sooner than first anticipated.

A circular to all member clubs of the NWCFL indicated that matches could potentially resume as early as December 5, with Alport scheduled to host Padiham that day.

The league season is expected to be extended until June with all of the postponed matches from November carried forward until the summer.

Everything remains up in the air with the FA equally keen to resume non-elite football as quickly as possible, but much will depend on whether spectators will be allowed into grounds.

The North West Counties has always insisted that games would not take place if fans were not permitted to attend although prior to the second lockdown, restrictions on numbers were set at 300.

Alport’s director of football, Lea Edge, thinks the players will be ready to start up again whenever called upon and is looking forward to the upcoming batch of fixtures.

He said: “We have been speaking regularly as a management group and checking in with the players to see what levels of fitness they have been maintaining while we’ve been unable to train.

“Obviously there’s no substitute for playing games so getting up to match fitness will be a problem for everyone not just us.

“We played six games in October and didn’t manage to win any of them but apart from Rylands we were well in contention in every match.

“We’ve got Ryan Allcock back in the squad and adding Jamie Hands to the group gives us something different in midfield.

“The lad will run through brick walls for you and you need that at this level.

“Some of the games coming up you’d fancy us to do well in and if we could get a run together then the table would look very different.”

Alport midfielder, Blake Robinson, has left the club to join Ellesmere Rangers, and Edge has been speaking to a centre half and a striker over the past few weeks.

He hopes to be able to get both deals over the line in time for the resumption of football in the early part of next month.