Halifax Boss keen for play-offs at St George’s Park
FC Halifax Town manager Pete Wild believes that a play-off finale behind closed doors at St George’s Park would represent a feasible way of completing the 2019-20 National League season.
The regular season was scrapped last week, but promotion and relegation is still up in the air.
The Shaymen ended the campaign in a play-off berth.
Speaking to the Yorkshire Post Wild said: “I do not think null and void is an option. Fans pay their hard-earned money to travel up and down the country and deserve an end to the season.
“Owners of clubs put in a lot of effort by putting the finances in (to finish a season) and for the players, null and void means that 40 or 50 games are wiped off their career.
“I don’t see how it can be that. For example, they could get us all to St George’s Park for two weekends in a row and then it’s all done and sorted out and everything can be done in a controlled environment.”
One thing that Wild is also adamant about is the need for matches to only be staged when it is completely safe to do so.
He continued: “Football should take a back seat until it is safe to do so. But when it is safe to resume, I think there has to be a conclusion to this season.
“The players have been trying to get themselves fit and we have been in contact to check that their well-being is alright and everything seems well and all the staff are well.
“We have been lucky in that respect that everybody is fit and healthy and all the families are. We are just trying to keep sharp and it has allowed me a bit of time to reflect on what has gone on and looking at next year.”
Despite a strange end to his first full season in management, Wild admits he has taken plenty from it and says that a number of telephone calls to fans to lift spirits during the lockdown has provided him with perspective.
Wild said: “It has been my first full season as a manager and I have learned a lot and this has helped me in terms of giving me the time to think about things that you don’t usually have time to think about in the pressure cooker of a season.
“I have done a lot of calls to a range of fans – the elderly to the younger ones.
“In football, you often only hear the negatives that are shouted and never hear the positives. But I have heard the positivity in their voices and it is really pleasing and humbling because as a football manager, you never usually hear the nice side – more just people having a go. It has been really nice.”