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Hythe manager Steve Watt says whoever goes up this season will deserve all the credit in the world.
The impact of Covid-19 on football has presented plenty of challenges for bosses all over the country.
It’s no different in Isthmian South East where clubs are awaiting a restart date following the second national lockdown.
Cannons boss Watt said: “It’s probably the most difficult season I’ve had as a manager and I’d imagine the players feel similar.
“It’s been a difficult time, a challenging time, and whoever goes on to be successful this season will have earned it.
“That’s the case every year but even more so this season, not just because of the stop-start nature of it but with the uncertainty of never knowing what’s around the corner.
“Someone in your squad might get the virus, which we’ve had to deal with and I’m sure others have, then there was going back into lockdown and that’s not even to mention the pre-season preparation which wasn’t normal.
“Whoever’s successful this season will deserve all the credit in the world.”
With a heavy schedule coming up, Watt will look to add to his squad to give Hythe the best chance of a promotion push.
They’re in a good position to do that, having steered clear of the financial commitments that contracts bring.
“We need to carry a few more bodies with the fixture congestion we’ve got coming up,” said Watt.
“All of our players are non-contract anyway, so it’s something we’ll look to do.
“Managing your squad correctly will be a big factor in clubs getting to the play-offs.
“With the players being non-contract, it’s not as if we’ve had to pay anyone through this time.”
The Isthmian League hope to give more news on a restart after Wednesday's review of the Covid tiers.
However, with limited crowds now permitted - 200 at Isthmian South East level - there are encouraging signs.
Watt said: “From what I’ve read I don’t know if it matters if we’re in different tiers because we’re allowed fans back.
“I thought after the fans announcement they’d have perhaps held another vote to see how clubs felt and made a decision on a restart date, but it’s been up in the air.
“You’re trying to get games organised but you don’t want to start too early, and now we might have started too late.
“We’ve been back training for a little while and we’ve got a behind-closed-doors friendly against Welling Town this weekend. It will be good to get back out on the pitch.
“A few of the players were blowing when we came back, like you’d expect, but relatively the players are in good nick.
“I’m hoping it won’t take us long to get up to speed because we’ve only played six league games and probably no more than 10 or 11 games with the cups, so the bodies aren’t fatigued like they would be at the end of the season.”
