Clydebank manager Gordon Moffat has backed the Scottish Junior Football Association’s decision to suspend all matches until further notice due to coronavirus fears.
Following the Scottish government’s decision to ban all public gatherings of more than 500 people and, with the Covid-19 pandemic escalating, the authorities in Scottish football met on Friday afternoon before coming to the decision to put a halt to all matches at all levels.
And with the SJFA affiliated and closely linked to the SFA, the West Region league has followed suit with the game’s most senior league by temporarily calling off all matches.
“We fully support and are fully behind the SPFL, SFA and SJFA’s decision to suspend all football,” Moffat said.
“The health of everyone at the club and all the fans comes first in a time like this so we’ll continue to follow any advice given to us.
“It’s all unprecedented so we don’t really know what to expect or what will happen with the league, hopefully it was all start to sort itself out once we begin to get this under control. It’s all day-to-day right now, hopefully things become clearer sooner rather than later.”
With a blanket ban on matches, friendlies and even bounce games, Moffat concedes that it is for the best.
However, while unsure what the protocol is for junior clubs training, he insists both himself and the Bankies board, will continue to closely follow advice from the league.
He added: “I’ll have to have a chat with the club and see what advice is being passed on from the league and whether we can train or arrange bounce games.
“Football isn’t the be all and end all, so we’ll do what’s best for everyone at the club and the fans.
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“If Holm Park was to stay open, we could easily train as a small group of 22 quite safely, but it’s not just about us. There is a lot of footfall at this facility from ourselves, the under-19s and Yoker, right down to the youth set-up. We would potentially be looking at a scenario where there’s a number of kids, parents and players all passing through the same building.”
With just two matches remaining, Clydebank are in a better position than the vast majority of sides in the West Region Premiership, with some having as many as 15 games to go.
And the gaffer says that has benefited the club from a financial perspective.
“From a purely football point of view, we only had two matches remaining so we don’t have a lot to worry about in that regard - that’s one of the positives from getting all your matches ticked off early I suppose,” Moff added.
“In terms of income and gate receipts, we’ve played all of our homes games and were set to finish the season with two away fixtures so we are in a good position, which is vitally important for the club.
“I really do feel for a number of clubs across the leagues who have still got 10 or 15 matches to go, including a number of homes games.
“Hopefully the powers that be can shed some light on the whole situation at some point this week.”
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