PAUL Carden has hailed the response of his Warrington Town players amid the disruption brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.

A second consecutive season looks set to be declared null and void as a result of coronavirus, which would bring a stop-start campaign to a close.

After restarting competitive fixtures in September, Town played nine league games before November’s national lockdown brought “non-elite” football to a halt.

They briefly returned for one match – a 3-1 FA Trophy loss to Marske United on December 8 – but have not played since.

With no football on the horizon, the club have said every member of the squad is free to pursue opportunities to continue playing elsewhere if they arise – a stance Carden supports.

Despite this, however, he is hopeful of bringing most if not all of his players back to the club in advance of the 2021-22 season.

“The lads have been different class,” he said.

“They have been understanding of the situation Toby is in and they obviously get the bigger picture beyond football.

“They have been fully supportive of everything the club has to do and I’ve got to give them credit for it.

“It’s tough on everyone but they are young and fit. This isn’t going to be around forever and they will play again.

“Hopefully we can bring most if not all of them back in the summer and keep working towards what we always work towards.

“I’ve encouraged them all to take chances to keep playing. It’s the right thing to do for the players.

“I’ve spoken to other managers who may be interested in them and I’ve put them all out there.

“The lads are all good lads and I believe they can all play higher. If any opportunities come up for them, I will encourage them to take it.”