Aldershot Town boss praises Chesterfield's honesty after Covid causes FA Trophy tie to be called off

The game was called off one hour before kick-off and the unnamed player later tested positive.

The Spireites had hoped that the tie could be rearranged but this was not possible and they have now withdrawn from the competition, saying they were ‘forced into a corner’ to drop out.

“Fair play to Chesterfield but it must have crossed people’s mind to say ‘let’s leave that one’, but it’s nice to see people taking this disease seriously and people’s wellbeing is being put at the forefront of everything,” Searle told Surrey Live just after the fixture was postponed.

“Obviously we’re disappointed not to play the game but the main thing is that whoever it was is okay and not too ill.

“I found out when someone knocked on my office door and said it was off. I was like ‘okay I’m not sure about that because I think I’d have known by now if it was off – I’m the manager!’

“But you know what it’s like at a football club – at times it is like a load of little kids running around, gossiping and spreading rumours. So I spoke to the Chesterfield kitman and he said he’d had a message from the club saying this had happened and as far as he was concerned the game was off.

“I then spoke to the officials and they said they needed confirmation from Chesterfield’s secretary, which they got while I was talking to them. So that was that.”