Clydebank manager Gordon Moffat admits he isn’t surprised at the Scottish FA’s announcement that all football below Championship level is to be suspended for at least three weeks.

The decision, announced by the game’s governing body on Monday, means clubs cannot play games or train together.

It’s set to be reviewed on a rolling basis and comes after a meeting between the SFA and Scottish Government amid rising coronavirus cases in the country.

The Bankies boss last week said that he feared an announcement like this may come after Scotland moved into a second national lockdown.

This week he spoke of his hopes the pause in play can allow cases to dip and football to return.

He told the Post: “I suspected it was on the table because there was a bit of pressure mounting on them so the announcement doesn’t come as a huge surprise.

“We’ll keep doing what we’re asked to do and we’ve been asked to stop for three weeks so we’ll do that, as we have with everything else. Of course it’s frustrating but there’s obviously a bigger picture.

“We’re going to have to see the numbers go down over the next few weeks to give the SFA and the government a bit of comfort that we can restart.”

Monday’s announcement followed the postponement of the Bankies’ first two fixtures of the new year, with their January 3 trip to Troon and last Saturday’s match with Kilwinning Rangers at Holm Park both falling victim to the cold snap.

Clydebank remain unbeaten in the West of Scotland League Premiership, with six wins from their opening seven league games, and Moff hopes the club’s first season back in the senior setup isn’t cut short.

The 38-year-old believes that keeping his squad motivated will be a challenge in this season like no other.

He said: “It’s difficult for clubs and players to keep their heads in it.

“We’ll be in contact with the guys over the next few weeks and do similar to what we were doing last March.

“We’ll keep ourselves moving and focused, and that’s all we can do. I don’t want all their hard work to go to waste now.

“It’s a unique situation but we’ll manage it the best we can.”

Moff is also of the impression that Celtic’s much publicised trip to Dubai, which saw the Parkhead side return with one positive Covid case, only aided the decision of those in charge to impose the suspension.

He added: “It certainly hasn’t helped. It’s baffling they decided to still go, and it all feeds into that bigger pot and pressure on the government to look at things.”