EFL club chairman offers boost for when Bristol Rovers fans may be allowed back in the Mem

Scunthorpe United chairman Peter Swann revealed there is talk of ‘some semblance’ of crowds being at games in just a few months

Bristol Rovers' fans hopes of returning to the Mem may be answered sooner than first hoped, according to one EFL club chairman.

Scunthorpe United chairman Peter Swann hopes the new season could begin in September and potentially with some fans being allowed into grounds to watch games.

Swann believes the start of the next campaign will be ‘difficult’ to begin as it traditionally does in light of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

The current season is yet to be officially concluded, though clubs in League Two have voted to end the campaign.

Though the picture is less clear in League One with clubs at present divided over how the current campaign should be concluded, players in the Championship have followed their counterparts in the Premier League and returned to training with a view of playing out the remaining fixtures this season.

What is clear is that if action resumes this campaign, it will be behind closed doors and some observers believing it could be 2021 before fans are fully allowed back into grounds.

But Iron chairman Swann – who are 20th in League Two with nine games left to play this season – is hoping the next campaign can start in September, but with some fans being allowed into stadiums with social distancing measures in place.

He told GrimsbyLive : “The beginning of August will be difficult (to start the new season), so you are probably looking at September at the earliest which is another three months.

“That is going to be tough for clubs to survive. If it’s the beginning of September, most clubs in this division will need money in July to help get us through until then.

“We are hoping it is September – and there is also talk of some semblance of crowds coming back if we can get our stadium in a position to do that. We will work as hard as we can in the coming months to have something in place so we can keep some sort of distance between the fans.

“At least if we can get 2,000 in, or even 2,500 in, it’s a big help – and that is a possibility. It is something we have really got to look at.

“We have got the car parking space to have one every other space to keep people apart. I am sure we can put barriers up and systems in place so people can into the ground okay.

“We are going to work as hard as we can but, at the moment, we are just sitting here haemorrhaging money because nobody is making a decision and that is frustrating for us.

“We are waiting to see what happens, but the frustration is at the time it has taken to get where we are now.

“I felt we could have done this very early on. There was never going to be an opportunity for League Two to get back and play because of the cost involved.

“The National League made their decision very early because of financial reasons, and perhaps we should have done that.”