Barrow Raiders head coach Paul Crarey is pleased that the club will be playing in this season’s 2021 Challenge Cup.

The Raiders are one of only three League 1 clubs, alongside Keighley Cougars and West Wales Raiders, to enter the competition.

And with the current uncertainty surrounding their pre-season, Crarey has admitted he will be using Raiders’ first-round tie, which will be played on the weekend of March 21, as a warm-up for their league season.

Crarey said: “There will be limited pre-season friendlies, so we are going to use the Challenge Cup game to give our lads a run and see where we are as a team.

“I think every team will be treating it as a pre-season friendly as it’s been so long since we last played.”

Crarey revealed that the team will return to training in the first week of February ahead of their cup tie in the following month.

As part of the stipulations, the club will have to follow strict Covid-19 protocols.

Prior to entering Craven Park, players and staff will need to produce a negative Covid-19 test, which will be conducted at the ground.

Teams will also be banned from contact training, with Crarey admitting that the side will be working on their structure instead.

The Raiders could potentially have three full months of training ahead of their League 1 opener on the weekend of May 8.

The 2021 season’s schedule will be played over four months, with the campaign finishing in September.

Crarey is adamant that the upcoming season could be a lottery.

He said: “We will be playing week in, week out, whereas in seasons before we have had breaks.

“The teams with the deepest and fittest squads will do well.

“Covid-19 could be a huge factor too, where teams will have to forfeit games if they have too many players who have tested positive.”

Despite this, promotion is the goal for the Raiders.

Crarey added “We want to get promoted and back into the Championship.

“We have a squad capable of that.

“It will be tough, there are a lot of contenders in this division, but we’re more than capable.”