Chris Beech admits it will be special to have some of Carlisle United’s die-hard fans back in Brunton Park for the first time in six months.

A thousand Blues supporters will be at the ground for tomorrow’s game against Southend as one of seven test events in the EFL.

It is the first time any crowd will have been at United’s stadium since March 10, when their game against Newport was soon followed by the shelving of football due to Covid-19.

Carlisle are continuing preparations to ensure the game can proceed safely for the season-ticket holders who will be attending.

And head coach Beech says he is delighted his team will have the backing of fans tomorrow.

“I’m very pleased with that,” he said. “I’m so happy that the lads and lasses can come back and watch us play.

“I miss them. That’s what football’s all about, isn’t it?

“It will probably cause a bit of discrepancy, if you’re the 1,001st [who can’t come], but I’m really pleased we’re going to have people who support our cause supporting us on the day.

“The fans will be so excited and will have that feeling of getting ready and sticking that new strip on that they’ve paid good money for. They’ll be coming down in it and feeling good, so it’s fantastic.

“Hopefully the weather will be good, it’ll be a nice day and we can have a really good first home [league] game.”

United’s hosting of a pilot game for supporters this weekend comes amid warnings about the need to get fans back into grounds to protect the finances of league clubs.

It also comes amid tightening Covid-19 restrictions across the country.

It means many eyes will be on the Blues to see if the event can proceed successfully. The Cumbrians have made social distancing arrangements in the terraces and seating areas and are asking fans to wear masks when they are moving around the stadium.

Beech said it will be a step back towards normality to have supporters cheering on his team, who are hoping for an improved display after three defeats in respective competitions.

He added: “Yes, players respond, and like I said to the chairman the other day, it must be so difficult for the lads – it’s like being a performer, a singer, and having no crowd to sing to.

“Even if you’ve sang a bad note, there’s a response from them and you’ll think that you had better buck your ideas up – you don’t get that without people there and it is really strange.

“I spoke last week after the game about how hard is going behind in a game at the moment, in the situation we’re in. Balls end up in the stands but there’s no ball boys to get them back quickly for you.

“I watched that ‘All or Nothing’ [the Amazon series on Tottenham Hotspur] and I think that helped Jose Mourinho in one of the games where the ball was given quickly to one of the players and they scored a goal.

“It’s that connection of what our sport is that’s been missing.

“Hopefully we can do well on Saturday in terms of the club and the organisation, which will mean that the EFL and governing bodies are happy and we then get it expanded to what we would class as normal football.”

Tomorrow’s game, meanwhile, kicks off at the earlier time of 1pm.

That came from a reciprocal agreement between the Blues and Southend.

Beech said: “I’m happy we’ve agreed to it. It came out of the original fixture list coming out.

“I like to work in a non-excuse environment, but why the hell we’ve got Southend away on Easter weekend I do not know. Do us a favour!

“If we were kicking off at 3pm away, the lads wouldn’t get to bed until Saturday 4-5am, and then that day’s gone, you’ve lost a recovery day.

“We asked for a 1pm kick off to try and get in bed the same day, and they said, ‘Will you do the same with us?’ The club agreed to it.

“I did look at if we could have moved the Scunthorpe game [from Easter Monday] to the Tuesday night…from a playing perspective it would be better but from a club perspective, it’s a Bank Holiday home game, hopefully we can have everybody back in the ground and we’re in a good place.”