NEILSTON co-boss Chris Cameron admits the current suspension of football has made him realise how much he loves the beautiful game.

Cameron’s players haven’t kicked a ball since the Scottish Football Association imposed a ban on all matches below SPFL Championship level on January 11.

The pause in play, caused by a rise in coronavirus cases across the country, was initially to be in place until the end of January.

However, it has since been extended until at least February 14, in line with a national lockdown.

Officials at the West of Scotland Football League (WoSFL) have scrapped all previously arranged fixtures for the 2020/21 campaign and replaced these with a new schedule that aims to ensure teams get to play each other at least once.

Should the season have to be cut short as a result of the Covid crisis, an average points-per-game system will be used to decide the final league placings.

Cameron said he is happy with the league’s rearranged plans in this season like no other and hopes his players will be back on the pitch as soon as possible.

The Farmer’s Boys had been in red-hot form, winning eight games out of eight so far in Conference B.

Cameron told Barrhead Sport: “It’s frustrating for the players and for the management. Everybody is just looking to get back as soon as we can.

“As a manager, you sometimes think you could be doing with a break from it all when things aren’t going so well but it makes you realise why you’re in the game when you get a lay-off like this.

“The league are hopeful that we can play one hundred per cent of our games but I can understand the rationale of trying to get everybody to play each other once and just play as many games as we can from there.

“We’re all aware there could be a possibility that we go back and get a few games in but then have to take a backwards step again.

“I think what the league have proposed is sensible and is as good as we could have hoped for at this stage.”

Kennie Young, WoSFL secretary, is hopeful that the season can be played to a satisfactory conclusion.

He said: “The main aim is to play as many games as time will allow.

“If we can get one hundred per cent of the games played, then that will be the target, but only if we have the time to fit in all the fixtures.”