PICKERING Town boss Steve Roberts believes that the league season will be declared null and void once again.

Pickering's campaign in the Pitching In Northern Premier League north/west division was suspended March 6 last week amid the introduction of a third national lockdown.

Currently only matches in Step 2 and above can be played, leaving Pickering's league season - having played just nine matches so far - in serious doubt.

Roberts believes that another cancellation now looks likely.

The Pikes manager said: “I think we will lose this season and if they said ‘We’re just going to start next season’, for me now, I’d accept that and start planning for that normal season.

“Listening to what’s being said by the government, if restrictions are loosened in March, does that mean that football can come back straightaway again – I don’t think it will.

“There will still be some restrictions in place for football, there may be 15 per cent of fans allowed, where some clubs do struggle to make money from that.

"It’s sad to say, but I think we’re getting close to the only option being to null and void the season again.

“But, if they did that, and we had the guarantee of a normal season next season, at the moment, I think that would be the right thing to do.

“I think all of us as managers want that normality back. A full season would be fantastic and if that’s the way we have to go, that’s the way we should go.

“We do need to know because clubs are looking at it from a business perspective, where you need to know where your revenue is coming from at a particular time."