Worksop Town assistant welcomes possible September start date for Tigers

It was revealed on Friday that the non-league game could start as early as September, with all steps expected to begin on the same date.

The FA plan also confirmed a pre-season perioud would take place, though they declined to reveal any length.

And Rouse says the news now gives Tigers something to work towards, and means they could begin their pre-season campaign next month.

“It was a relief to, sort of, get a date to work towards,” said Rouse.

“We were in the dark with things and we were expecting to start around October, and we were even hearing beyond that, so to get some clarification that the leagues were hoping to begin the season in September was a nice thing to hear and now we can start to plan towards that date.

“The FA have said that they have got another meeting on 14 July and we are planning to start our pre-season on 18 July, which would give us six or seven weeks up until September and we will be aiming to do the full course of pre-season and will go as we normally would.

“I have seen that some clubs are already back training, but we would prefer to leave it a little bit longer to give the lads some rest and let them do some work themselves – most players at this level do so and try to keep fit and we hope players are sticking to that.

“I think there is a lot of excitement and anticipation from the squad, who are all chomping at the bit to get started and they are hoping to get going sooner rather than later.

“It is old news now, but a lot of last season’s players have moved on from the club and it is pretty much a new squad that is coming in, bar a few faces who remain.

“Everyone is excited to get going and I can’t wait to start this new challenge that we are relishing.”

Rouse also expressed his delight that supporters may be able to also be allowed into the stadium for the commencement of the 2020/21 campaign.

Rouse added: “To know that they are planning to start with fans through the door with whatever the circumstances – whether that be social distancing measures or a restriction on the number of fans in there – is great to hear.

“It has been difficult to watch the Premier League and the Championship games because it doesn’t have the same feel without the fans in.

“You want to have supporters in the ground, you want to have a full pre-season and friendlies and hopefully when we get back to doing that, then it will be a big plus for everyone, including the Worksop Town supporters who we hope that they will enjoy what they see.”

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