Poppies owner Ritchie hoping for a September or October return

But the Poppies owner is staying hopeful that the new campaign will get under way before the end of the year.

In a recent update to their 68 clubs, the National League confirmed that August 8 remains the official start date for the 2020-21 season but that it will ‘inevitably need to be reviewed and updated’.

They also said ‘it is assumed that it is not practical and sustainable to commence the new season if matches are to be played behind closed doors’.

And Jeune is hoping matches in front of fans will be possible again by September or October, especially is there is no sign of a second wave of Covid-19 following recent events.

“I can’t see any team, even some League One and League Two clubs, able to survive on just some sort of streaming revenue,” Jeune said.

“The economics of football, at the level we are at, is that the majority of the funds come from your gate receipts. There aren’t the commercial opportunities to generate enough funds not to heavily rely on gate receipts.

“Given the protests that have been going on and things like that, we will soon see whether there is an uplift in cases.

“If we don’t see one then I would think that will be beneficial for us to hopefully get started in September or October time.”

Whenever the Poppies do return to action on the pitch, fans can expect to see a new-look Latimer Park.

Boss Paul Cox admitted last week that he was “amazed” by the transformation of Kettering’s home ground as the club bring it up to the required standard for Step 2 football.

Jeune believes the Poppies have made the most of an enforced break from action on the field.

And he was full of praise for the club’s fans for the part they have played in helping to raise money while income is low.

“Hopefully people will see some positive changes to the environment,” Jeune added.

“We have obviously had to make sure we meet the capacity requirements. We have put some new terracing in and the new stand is going in at the moment.

“The new turnstiles have gone in and the general entranceway to the ground has been improved.

“First impressions count and we had the wooden turnstiles for longer than we wanted to.

“From the response we have had for the fundraising with the President’s Appeal, the work our ‘Exiles’ and the Trust have done, it’s been quite a positive time for the club.

“We haven’t been playing games but we have still been well supported by the fanbase and that is always nice.

“It allows us to do things and gives us that bit of breathing space to complete tasks that needed to be done.

“And this break has also allowed us to do things inside and the clubhouse has had a complete redecoration, which is something we normally wouldn’t have had time to do.”