BALA TOWN Football Club's chief executive says the team's 2019/20 JD Cymru Premier season will 'never be forgotten or replicated'.

The Lakesiders secured third place in the table and should be set to make a return to Europa League football in 2020/21 season after the current season was cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking to the club website this week, Nigel Aykroyd gave his review of the 2019/20 campaign.

He said: "It has without doubt been a season never to be forgotten or replicated. What hit us all in March was something we had only seen before in sci-fi films and bore no resemblance to normality in our everyday lives.

"This all transferred immediately to our football season which was ended in the most abrupt of circumstances and caused an impossible conundrum for the footballing authorities. However the footballing season which came before the virus was one of considerable success for the Club.

"With only six JD Cymru Premier fixtures remaining we were still challenging at the top of the table and had cemented a third place spot at the very least! This was a marked improvement on the previous season and testament to the very high playing standards which were repeatedly on view for all to see.

"The overall impact of this crisis for our Football Club has yet to materialise and may not do so for many months to come but we will have to face a hugely changed world and adapt ourselves accordingly. It will prove a significant challenge not only for us but for everyone involved in the game we love and the old adage of “status quo” will not be relevant at all! What has happened since mid March at the Club is a good question. The answer is basically NOTHING. The ground has been closed and all footballing activities suspended. Financial revenues and income have completely dried up. It is a massive concern and I’m certain that the financial reverberations will be felt all over the football fraternity for months if not years to come. As I mentioned earlier, no such thing as status quo!

"We were once again delighted to have achieved both European and Domestic Licences which demand the very highest standards throughout every aspect of the Club both on and off the field and this award came as most welcome news in the midst of the pandemic cessation of all football.

"Our Social Media team have continued to keep us all interested in football when no actual football is being played and certainly since the season was terminated we have been able to discuss new signings and squad preparation for the restart whenever that may be.

"Our Reserve team has been told that their League is being restructured but again no real clarification on the details behind this – more cause for uncertainty and concern! Despite the lockdown some of our dedicated volunteers have continued to do maintenance and improvement work at Maes Tegid. We are so grateful to them for achieving whilst adhering to social distancing regulations at the same time. The virus cannot kill the spirit within our Club!

"As things stand at this moment in time we await governmental guidance on all matters relating to BTFC – when can proper training begin, when can grass root football restart, when will Academy football restart, when can we reopen Maes Tegid and a myriad of other unanswerable questions! The normality of European preparation, European fixtures followed by pre season training and friendlies has completely gone. Planning is impossible. A big concern is how we will all cope when decisions on resumption are finalised. There will be a significant amount of work to be done in a very short time and we will need a big team effort to put everything in place to be ready for the new regulations which will no doubt accompany the return to competitive football.

"All in all these are very concerning times for us all but the health and well being of everyone involved at Maes Tegid will be paramount in our decisions which we will make when we attempt to return to a modicum of normality."