'It’s been strange to be honest' - Hartlepool United midfielder on what it's really like playing in front of no fans

A tier system will be reintroduced in England from December 2 with football fans in tier one and two areas permitted to return to stadiums.

But for Hartlepool and the North East, matches will remain behind closed doors due to the region’s ‘very high alert’ status.

The tier system will be reviewed every fortnight but for now, the Pools squad will continue to play in front of empty stadiums, for home games at least.

Holohan said the players have no choice but to just get on with it for now and hope to soon have The Vic back full as soon as possible.

Holohan told the Mail: “It’s been strange to be honest, it’s well documented how much clubs and players miss that atmosphere of having fans at the game.

"On one hand you’re happy to be winning games but it’s a bitter-sweet feeling when you’re not doing it in front of anyone.

"All we can do is keep on winning and when the fans eventually come back we’re in a good place to give them something to really shout about.”

No fans are allowed inside stadiums in tier three areas, which includes the entire North East.

Up to 2,000 fans will be allowed to attend matches in tier two areas and up to 4,000 in tier one areas.

No areas in the top five divisions have been placed into tier one but many clubs across the Football League and National League will be allowed to have a maximum of 2,000 fans back in their stadiums from next month.

Halifax Town, Notts County, Chesterfield, Solihull Moors, Altrincham, Stockport County and Dover Athletic also fall under tier three rules and will not be permitted to allow fans into their grounds from December 2.

Pools, who enjoyed a victory over Yeovil last weekend, have a free weekend this time round.

The December schedule is hectic though with 10 games for Dave Challinor and his Pools squad to tackle in the space of four weeks.

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