Brad Cooke celebrated his first anniversary as Atherton Collieries manager this week but news of the continued delay to the Northern Premier League season damped any celebrations, writes Ben Olawumi.

The Black and Whites – along with all sides in step 3 and 4 leagues across the country – were told on Thursday that fixtures would continue to be paused after it was confirmed clubs in tier 3 areas could not welcome spectators as they had done earlier in the season.

Despite his frustrations, Colls boss Cooke is realistic about the current situation, especially given his own personal experiences of the coronavirus pandemic. He said: “It’s frustrating for everybody because everyone wants to get back to watching football and we want to get back to playing it.

“Football brings some sense of normality back to life but at the end of the day we’re in the middle of a pandemic.

“I lost an uncle to Covid and its affected me in more ways than one, so it hurts me deeply and hits hard.

“I’m frustrated too but I can understand the Government and the league’s cautiousness.

“If it takes an extra couple of weeks for us to get restarted, then that’s fine. The league have got to make the right decision.

“The club have done so much off the pitch to make us Covid secure so I’m hoping that there are no more delays once we get under way again.”

Cooke’s first 365 days in the hotseat have thrown up many challenges but the boss remains positive and confident of a strong season, his side ninth in the Premier Division having fit in eight league games so far.

“The circumstances over the last year have been absolutely unbelievable and I was tested as soon as I walked through the door because of where we were in the table,” said the former club captain.

“I took over a squad that had done brilliantly under the previous manager and we lost our three most recognisable players in the first week that I was here – Ben Hardcastle, Greg Hartley and Michael Brewster – with all three following Cleggy (former manager Michael Clegg) to Ashton United.

“We’ve brought in players that have the Colls ethos now.

“They’re young, hungry for success and have a point to prove.

“There was always going to be a transition period, but I truly feel we have a strong Colls side that gives off the values of what we want to achieve on the football pitch every week.”