THE return of York City fans to Bootham Crescent will give the club a "massive boost", Micky Cummins has said.

York has been placed in Tier 2 by the Government under their new regional tier system, meaning that up to 2,000 supporters are allowed back into the ground.

A number of volunteers helped out to get the stadium 'match-fit' earlier this week, with the club saying they are "working hard to gain a number of external approvals and certifications at short notice" to allow fans back in "as soon as possible."

It is not yet known if City supporters will be allowed in for the weekend's home game with Chester or whether the two home matches against Kettering Town and Spennymoor Town are more realistic targets.

Regardless of the specific date of the return of fans, Cummins is relishing the prospect of doing so, having not played in front of a home crowd since the beginning of March.

The assistant manager said: “100 per cent (it’ll be a huge boost). It’ll give us a lift.

"If anything, it’ll be the morale of the fans and it’ll give them something to look forward to.

"As much as we’ve missed them, I’m sure they’ve missed seeing people on the terraces and their whole matchday routine.

"There’s no doubt it’ll be different, but it’s just for the mental health.

"We know that the supporters listen to the radio commentaries and watch the games where they can. But it’ll be a massive boost for them, we they can be back in the stands.

"Hopefully it’ll be this weekend, if not we’ve got three home games on the bounce. It’s a big thing and a big deal, to see familiar faces again, even if it is through a mask!

"It’ll give us all a lift and those atmospheres will be big compared to what we’ve got used to.

"It’ll only help us, so I’m really looking forward to that, when that does happen."

Premier League bosses Marcelo Bielsa and Steve Bruce have said that certain clubs being allowed to host fans and others not gives some sides an advantage on the field. Cummins, however, thinks that the sport should welcome back fans, so long as it's safe.

"Some managers will say it’s an advantage, some managers will say it’s a disadvantage," he said.

"When teams get a big following at home and it’s no longer there, it gives the away team the upper hand.

"There’s always two sides to it.

"I think as soon it is safe and possible to do so, regardless of the tiers, I do feel that it is important for the fans to get in."

On the field, York are 17th in the Vanarama National League, having played just five matches, the joint-lowest of any side in the division. They're 15 points adrift of leaders Gloucester.

“The last conversation we had in the last lockdown, we asked the lads not to look at the table," added Cummins.

"I know that some will look and won’t worry but we were wary that some would probably think ‘There’s a bit of a gap there’.

"The fact is, it is what it is. It’s a horrible situation that people find themselves in, a lot of clubs. We’ve got to focus on each game rather than looking at the league table.

"You can’t really look at the league table for another two or three months. It can be a mental block for some but we’ve tried to turn away from that and just focus on the next game when you can always get better."