ALBION Sports manager Ishy Hussain has spoken of his delight at his side finally being able to participate in a match after a six-month hiatus.

Sports return to action for the first time since December 28 on Saturday when they kick start their six-week pre-season schedule with a friendly against Parkgate.

They had hoped to be part of the Yorkshire Trophy, a summer mini-tournament hosted by Brighouse Town, but that did not come off meaning a spell of inactivity just lengthened.

Another boost for Northern Counties East League Premier Division teams is the season starting earlier than it has ever done before.

The July 31 provisional date will allow clubs to play a league fixture before the FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round, which takes place on August 7.

Hussain said: "We have just been ticking over with training sessions.

"We wanted to get into that mini-tournament but one thing led to another and we had to come out of that.

"We have got our first friendly on Saturday with Parkgate then after that we have got five Saturday's in a row.

"Nobody wanted to wait until the usual date (August) when the lads would have been champing at the bit."

In the off-season, Albion have been hit quite hard in terms of the players they have lost.

Talented defender Sam Bradley moved to Bradford rivals Eccleshill United in March and popular midfielder Andy Cooper followed him earlier this month.

Hussain bemoaned the fact his previous squad has fallen apart but is looking forward to the prospect of building a new team.

He added: "If you lose players of that quality you are going to have problems but it was their own choice and good luck to them.

"When you have built a team from scratch like we did last year, it is frustrating when you lose players.

"It was frustrating to only play nine games last season. We were just starting to find our feet and I was thinking this team could be quite good.

"It has been a bit hit and miss (in terms of recruitment). We have chased a few players and nothing has materialised.

"I was hoping to only add one or two players but with the people that have gone it is going to be the case of adding more now. It is going to be like building another team."

The pandemic has meant Sports have only played 34 league matches in the last two campaigns.

A rotten 2019/20 term, where they were second-bottom when null and void hit, led to changes at the top and a year later Hussain's involvement inspired them to take 13 points from nine games.

The Albion boss has his fingers crossed that it can be third time lucky and this season can go all the way.

He added: "Hopefully with a bit of luck we can finish the season and see where the lads go from there.

"You always start the season full of optimism. We are quietly confident we should do reasonably well."