Maidstone manager Hakan Hayrettin says the National League must find a way to finish the season.

Elite football has continued during the second wave of Covid-19 but more and more games are being called off across the three divisions.

The Stones have already seen league matches Braintree, Eastbourne and the double-header with Tonbridge postponed due to the virus and clubs face fixture backlogs in the new year.

Last season was cut short by coronavirus and Hayrettin is keen to avoid it happening again.

“I don’t want Covid to impede on what we’re doing,” said Hayrettin.

“There’s going to be a backlog of games, and it’s going to be tough, but we will do our best.

“The league have got to come up with some kind of strategy to help all the teams.

“We’re an elite league, we’ve got to finish the season, I can’t see any other way, but we’ll see what happens.

“If you’re given the title ‘elite’, then you are elite.

“When you’ve got that title, you don’t want to give it away straight away.”

Maidstone are back in isolation after a player tested positive for Covid-19 this week, with Saturday’s home game against Tonbridge the latest fixture postponed.

Since beating Poole 2-0 in the FA Trophy on December 19, they’ve seen four matches fall by the wayside.

Frome refused to travel for round three of the Trophy, with United receiving a walkover, while the Boxing Day game at Tonbridge and Monday’s trip to Eastbourne were called off due to opposition Covid cases.

Hayrettin, whose side are due at Dulwich next Tuesday, a game rearranged following floodlight issues in November, said: “It’s frustrating, like it is for everyone.

“We had a good result against Poole in the Trophy, a team who are top of their league, and we wanted to build on that.

“But there’s more important things going on in the world than football and it’s important we all adhere to the rules.

“We’ve missed some games and it will be a case of utilising the squad when we start playing again.

“I’ve said it before, the team’s strong, the squad’s even stronger.”

Read more: The latest sports news in Kent