Clydebank are the form team with it all to do coming into what now amounts to a six-game Premier Division title race.

The growing realisation that the SFA-imposed suspension of lower league football is likely to prevent their inaugural season being played to a conclusion forced WOSFL officials into announcing plans this week to adopt their preordained fallback position and declare the respective league champions on PPG (points per game) on the proviso that 50 per cent of all fixtures are fulfilled and clubs play each other at least once.

The news has been particularly well received by Bankies supporters with their team sitting atop the pile and unbeaten after chalking up six wins and a draw from their initial seven league fixtures and they are brimming over with confidence from knowing a maintaining of these standards will earn Gordon Moffat’s men a Lowland League play-off shot.

Nonetheless, the engaging manager who openly admits to be looking forward to leading his side into what promises to be a high-pressure run-in is urging caution and refusing to get carried away by the rising tide of his club’s fanbase aspirations.

He insisted: “Our run of good results is down to the players doing everything asked of them up to now and I’m hoping for more of the same in our remaining games.

“Not an easy ask considering the teams we have yet to face include all the leading title contenders, Darvel, Troon, Kilwinning Rangers and Irvine Meadow as well as Blantyre Vics and a Beith side proudly boasting an unbeaten league record.

“But that said, we have produced some really impressive stuff to get to the position where we are and it speaks volumes that we have scored more goals and conceded fewer than all our rivals.

“I respect every opponent but don’t fear anyone when our guys are in the mood.”

Moff added: "This latest suspension is a concern not least because nobody is saying how long it will last and it’s a case of keeping fingers crossed that  we can hit the ground running again.

“It is what it is and we have changed nothing by asking the players to carry out the same individual fitness routines that served them so well back at the first lockdown.

“And I know every team is in the same boat but they weren’t all playing at the very top of their game so it remains to be seen what the effects are from taking a prolonged time-out.”

On the injury front, Moffat reports a near clean bill of health with only skillful forward Liam McGonigle, about to undergo surgery to repair an torn ACL ligament, set to be posted missing from the Bankies gaffer’s selection hand.

The outcome of this week’s talks between the SFA and Scotland’s lower league clubs have bizarrely been shrouded in secrecy, however if word on the terracing slopes reckoning League 1 and League 2 outfits have been told to set their sights on an early March restart date ring true then there is little likelihood of obstacles being put in the way of the WOSFL getting a similar green light, albeit possibly later in the month.

It’s also been alleged there’s been a relaxation of the restriction asking for lower league players to be tested for coronavirus on a weekly basis which flies in the face of the school of thought saying untested part-time footballers travelling across country (three times per week) in order to participate in training sessions and to play matches is akin to putting one’s head inside a lion’s mouth and praying that you don’t get bitten.

The game’s governing body managing to convince the Scottish Government this travel is for essential purposes is sure to be welcomed by WOSFL clubs even though there’s a perceived divide developing among team managers as to whether the current campaign should be played out.

Carluke Rovers manager Mark Weir is firmly in the camp wanting the curtain to come down and planning to start for next season while neighboring Lanark United figurehead Jamie McKenzie said earlier this week: “We obviously want the season to start back but it has to be done under safe conditions. It’s important that everyone returns feeling safe and we have to prioritise our players’ health.

“We are keen to start back but we are also respectful of everything that is going on so we have to look out for each other, make sure everyone is alright and hopefully get back to playing in the near future.”

And one of the most experienced managers going the rounds, Willie Harvey of Rutherglen Glencairn, provided a dressing room viewpoint in stating: “None of my players have intimated to me that they can’t be bothered, but I’ve spoken to other players who are losing interest and getting really frustrated by the constant stopping and starting.

“The amount of players who are wanting to just stop this season and start next season is really high.”

Amidst all this restart uncertainty comes word of Pollok and Junior Scotland winger Gary McCann moving across city to rejoin his first ever Junior club Ashfield  on a season-long loan deal.