EVERY JD Cymru North club received unwelcome news regarding the current lockdown restrictions, meaning they are now unable to train for a further three weeks before the next Welsh Government review on March 13.

All except one.

Bangor City have continued to train throughout the lockdown period and over the last 12 months after gaining professional status, meaning their squad are relying on training as their main source of income and are being paid as full-time professional players.

This is quite a luxury to have, especially in the current climate.

City president Domenico Serafino has lofty ambitions for the club and is aiming to see the Citizens’ return to their glory days and top-flight football once competitive action is permitted to resume.

He has invested heavily in a squad primarily focused on talent from the continent with a couple of home-grown players such as Alex Boss also part of the set-up. But the pressure will be well and truly on regarding promotion after gaining a considerable advantage in their preparation compared to other teams also looking to mount a title challenge.

Whether this is unfair is up for debate.

There is a clear divide building in Welsh domestic football from the top-two tiers down to what the Football Association of Wales classes as “recreational” leagues and their intent to keep the JD Cymru Premier cash cow flowing was there for all to see during the early period of the campaign.

This is going to have severe ramifications on the grassroots game, which the current COVID-19 complications set to take a long time to recover from. However, in Bangor’s case is ensures Hugo Colace’s squad will be firing on all cylinders from the word go that could make all the difference in a shortened campaign that is aiming to complete 15-games over an eight-week period.

Not getting the right sort of preparation in terms of training brings its own set of complications. Players are working individually on their fitness, but the benefits of face-to-face interaction with teammates do so much more.

The fact that Bangor are doing this when others are staying at home makes them the championship favourites.

Whether they can live up to this billing is another matter entirely.