ST ASAPH City manager Daniel Brewerton stated his belief that January was “the last window of hope” regarding a potential Tier 3 campaign.

The Saints’ boss has endured an eventful year at the helm that was full of incident both on and off the pitch, but with the Ardal Northern Leagues yet to be given elite athlete status and the current Welsh Government lockdown measures, Brewerton claimed time is running out to put a plan in place for competitive action to resume.

He said: “I believe January is our last window of hope of getting any competitive football played this season.

“Playing midweek games at grounds without lights means waiting until April until the evenings are light enough and with the number of fixtures needed to play it would be unrealistic to expect them all to be fulfilled.”

The year started off miserably for everyone associated with the club thanks to significant flood damage that decimated their playing surface and facilities.

After a rousing effort from volunteers and local businesses, City were able to repair all of this and even get their ground up to the new Tier 3 requirements implemented by the Football Association of Wales.

“The flood really put us at a tipping point,” added Brewerton.

“We had committed a lot of finances into the new stand and other requirements to meet the new Tier 3 criteria, we needed help and the local community responded, businesses and individuals alike donated their time and funds to help us reach our targets and thankfully gain Tier 3 status for the club, it gives you a massive sense of pride to be involved projects like that.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has now presented us with a host of new challenges, it’s been very difficult to plan and organise with all the uncertainty and constant changes to circumstances and guidelines to follow, and obviously the lack of finances coming into the club but still having to pay out for pitch maintenance, equipment, PPE and winter training.

“All clubs will be feeling this and I hope that none of them go under because of this, I remember we had a conversation back in October as to whether it was in the interest of clubs to even try and get a season up and running, I was doubtful at the time and it’s looking more likely that it isn’t.”