THE league season may be over, but Warrington Rylands may still find themselves playing at a higher level in August.

In curtailing the 2020-21 season early for clubs between Steps Three and Six of the National League System, the Football Association left the door open for some potential promotions.

A planned restructure which would create an extra division in the Northern Premier League may still happen having been pushed back once due to the initial onset of the Covid pandemic.

With the third-best playing record in the North West Counties League Premier Division over the past two shortened seasons, Blues feel they are in with a more-than-decent shout.

Whatever the criteria may be, club owner Paul Stretford insists they will be ready.

“It’s really disappointing what’s happened, for us in particular,” he said.

“We’ve been public in setting our stall out and we’ve backed it financially to enable this to happen.

“Through no fault of anyone, the pandemic has happened and more important things came into play.

“For everyone connected with the club, it’s quite sad because in the last two seasons, I think we would have been promoted in either of them.

“That would get us to that next step where we can make that charge to taking the club even further forward.

“I would prefer to do that on merit through playing football matches, but I wouldn’t refuse it if we were invited.

“If we matched whatever qualification they choose, we would be there in a shot. It might be a combination of two or three things.

“I think the whole point of reorganising the National League System is so that clubs that want to invest and get themselves on that pathway through can do so and are given that opportunity.

“I do think we would meet it on each and any equation, where it is on-field performance, ground grading and financial stability or a mixture.

“I think we would be ready and an ideal candidate.

“Who knows yet – we’re hearing a lot of speculation but we’ve had no absolute guarantee that that’s what is happening at the moment.

“We’ll prepare ourselves correctly to make sure we can do it in any way.”