Common sense prevails as fans return to non-league - Miller

Latest Government guidelines have allowed a small number of supporters to be able to return to grounds to watch matches, with the amount of people able to come through the turnstiles set to rise again on August 31.

And that has been welcomed by the Holwell Sports manager.

“I think it’s a wise move for everyone,” he said.

“When you look at the bigger picture, we’ve had people sat in pubs but we couldn’t allow people into football grounds.

“When you are Step 5 or Step 6 club, especially in pre-season, if you get more than 50-60 people watching then you’ve done very well.

“I think common sense has prevailed on that one, and it’s great to see some familiar faces around the ground.”

While the return of socially distanced fans to games is important to the supporters as well as club finances, Miller pointed out it also has an impact on the players.

“When you have conversations with players interested in coming in, one of the things we’ve found they’re interested in is what the atmosphere’s like,” he continued. “Not just the dressing room but around the ground as well.”

As Sports prepare for the start of the UCL Division One season on September 5, they have ramped up their pre-season tests.

Last night they met UCL Premier outfit Quorn and will travel to Sleaford Town on Saturday (KO 3pm), before completing their warm-up schedule at Barwell under 21s on Wednesday (KO 7.45pm).

“Pre-season’s been ok for us,” Miller said.

“The results we’ve picked up have been positive, the disappointment is that we’ve had to cancel a couple of games due to one reason or another.

“We’ve then failed to pick up Step 6 sides like we were playing and we’ve played Step 7 sides.

“The Quorn and Sleaford fixtures are really important to us to bring things back into perspective.”

Melton footballer Ollie Burke has been recalled to the Scotland squad ahead of their upcoming Nations League fixtures.

The West Bromwich Albion winger - who has had loan spells at Celtic and Alaves - will be hoping to make the team which faces Israel on September 4 and the Czech Republic three days later.