Mark Bonner hails Cambridge United role in piloting safe return of fans to grounds as ‘great’ recognition for the club

Mark Bonner has welcomed the news that Cambridge United supporters will be allowed to return for two test events at Abbey Stadium as “great for the club”.

And the head coach believes that the U's being at the forefront of getting crowds back in grounds is worthy recognition for all the staff’s hard work and efforts in the past six months.

It was announced today (Thursday) that the U’s EFL Trophy match against Fulham under-21s on Tuesday (September 8) and the Sky Bet League Two fixture against Carlisle United next Saturday (September 12) will be government test events for the reintroduction of supporters to grounds.

There will be 1,000 allowed in for the Fulham game, and then 2,500 permitted for the Carlisle United match, with the findings to then be assessed.

“It’s great for the club, great for the players and great for the fans, for whom it was probably a bit out of the blue and they weren’t expecting it,” said Bonner.

“We’re hopeful it adds an atmosphere to the game and really motivates the players to give them a performance - it’s been so long.

“It’s a sign of things beginning slowly to return to some kind of normal, which is encouraging.

“Ian Mather, our chief executive, really led on this and he has done a brilliant job on this, and the board of directors are so supportive.

“The mentality of the club to go first, put us out there, is a big thing. I think we’ve done that a few times in the last few months, and certainly we’ve done it here.

“To get some recognition for that is massive. But we’re not downplaying how big a task it is to get a game on and fulfil the criteria.

“The staff throughout the club and the safety group that have to get such things passed is a massive operation, but for us to be able to get the wheels turning on that and seeing people inside the ground next week will be a huge bonus for us.”

The U’s last played in front of a crowd at the Abbey Stadium in February, a 2-1 defeat to Carlisle United, and given everything that has happened in the interim, it could feel like a special moment.

But that may be more so for supporters than the players, for whom Bonner predicts it will be just a regular occurrence.

“It will probably be normal in the fact that we’re used to playing in front of crowds the last time we played at the Abbey in a proper competitive game," he said.

“But also unnatural with the stands that might be open, or the spread of the people that are there - that may affect the atmosphere in some respects.

“Ultimately, from the club’s perspective, we need people at the game, supporting us and our fans need to come and see us play.

“If we’re going to start trying to be a team that people want to come and watch then we’d better start next week with the sort of level of performance, effort and attitude that people can really relate to.”

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