Hartlepool United chief executive Mark Maguire reacts to 'inevitable' National League suspension due to coronavirus outbreak

After limping on through the weekend with just six out of 12 fifth tier fixtures taking place, the National League eventually decided to follow their Premier League and EFL counterparts and suspend the competition until next month due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The suspension means Pools are set to lose around £25,000 per home match that doesn’t take place but Maguire has assured fans that chairman Raj Singh is committed to covering the costs.

Other clubs may not be so fortunate but the Pools chief executive believes the National League had no other choice.

“I had a lot of dialogue with the National League and I know they were put in an almost impossible position,” he said.

“When the board meeting was taking place on Friday, I was in receipt of at least 15 emails from different clubs in this division and the divisions below imploring for the National League to carry on because of the financial consequences to them.

“But at the same time, there’s the public health and welfare issue.

“There was some controversy over the decision on Friday to carry on in the first place.

“The league’s mantra at the time was that they were following government advice and obviously that has developed really quickly and by Sunday it felt inevitable that a suspension of the league would happen so by the time it was announced we were fully prepared.”