Clevedon Town boss Micky Bell expects his players to keep fit during the latest national lockdown, to be ready for a return to action later in the year.

Monday's announcement by Prime Minister Boris Johnson sees the shut down of local football confirmed once again, after the Toolstation Western League had decided to suspend the 2020-21 season for the next few weeks.

The Seasiders are currently in fourth place in the Premier Division and also awaiting a last-32 tie in the FA Vase, away at Plymouth Parkway or Fareham Town.

And Bell said: "Being in tier 3 we would have been able to get most of the lads in for training, even if we were not able to play any matches and we would have been doing just that.

"However, with the new lockdown we still need to make sure they are all fit and ready to go when we can start playing again, especially if we only get short notice of the restart.

"So, as back in March, we will rely on them to maintain their own fitness programmes which they all stuck to back then. A very small advantage of the break is that it gives us a chance get a couple of niggling injuries cleared up, but obviously we would have preferred to be playing.

"Given our position in the league and our great Vase run, the season was still very much alive for us. However, where it goes from here is anybody’s guess and we will wait for further guidance from the FA and Toolstation League before putting in place any future plans."

Clevedon's Under-18s had suffered the same fate when the Western Counties Floodlight Youth League Management Committee also decided to suspend their fixtures with a plan to review the position on January 19, which has now been taken out of their hands.

But, as in March, the club will be using the break to complete some more much needed ground improvements.

Having secured a Football Grounds Improvement grant for replacing the Everyone Active pitch barrier, the club are looking to ensure that most of the work will be carried out during the current break so that there is minimum disruption to games when football resumes.