Radcliffe FC's chairman says he has plenty of sympathy for boss Lee Fowler even if football is a secondary thought at the moment.

Paul Hilton only appointed the former Huddersfield man back in February to replace promotion-winning manager Jon Macken after his departure over a difference in opinion over the direction of the club.

After a stop-start beginning to life at the Neuven Stadium, Fowler saw his plans brought to an abrupt halt by the coronavirus pandemic with Boro sitting 16th in the BetVictor Premier Division.

He had already brought in former Bury captain Stephen Dawson as part of initial changes to the squad and now seemingly has plenty of time to ponder what his side will look like in the next campaign, pending the FA Council's final decision on declaring seasons for clubs in steps three to seven null and void.

"It couldn’t have been a more chaotic start for him.," Hilton told Roch Valley Radio.

"He missed his first two weeks on the job through the weather.

"That put him back in terms of understanding his squad and what his players were like and how they would work. And then obviously all this started to kick in.

"We actually played quite well and Lee had made inroads into how he wanted the squad to develop.

"Things looked pretty positive and everyone was looking forward to the run in really.

"Now it’s all stopped in its tracks. The health of the public is paramount but from our perspective I have a lot of sympathy for Lee because it’s been a bit of a stuttering start."

Fowler has previous management experience at Nuneaton Borough and Ilkeston Town.