COVID is presenting Maidenhead United with significant challenges, says Adams

Photo by Darren Woolley

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No discussions have yet taken place between the National League and its clubs over the possibility of matches being played behind closed doors or the return of strict new COVID-19 protocols.

But with the new Omicron variant now seemingly spreading freely among communities in the run up to Christmas, clubs are starting to wonder whether more stringent restrictions will be brought back in the coming weeks.

The majority of last season's National League campaign was played behind closed doors; however, those measures were relaxed for a handful of games in the middle and end of the season.

None of the clubs will welcome the prospect of playing matches behind closed doors, bringing back strict protocols for fans or reducing their capacity, but if Omicron continues to spread without being checked these measures will surely have to be considered by the league and its member clubs.

Right now Maidenhead United have more pressing concerns about the spread of COVID through its playing squad. Three players were unable to play in Saturday's 4-0 defeat to Solihull Moors after contracting the virus, while this Saturday's FA Trophy tie with Maidstone United has been cancelled, with the Stones getting a bye to the next round.

When you add in the players currently out through injury it paints a picture of why the Magpies have been struggling of late.

“It's certainly something that everyone needs to be considerate of,” said CEO Jon Adams. “There haven't been discussions with the league and us or any clubs at this time. COVID is already impacting on us day-to-day.

"We had three positive cases in advance of the game on Saturday which was challenging for us, and we were required to play the game and, since then we've had two subsequent positive tests.

"So, for us from a practical perspective, COVID is presenting real challenges to us having a fit squad to play games. I expect that's going to be a challenge for us and lots of other teams moving forward and we've seen that already.

“There are practical challenges for us to keep our players and our staff and, to a certain degree, keeping the public safe as well.

“Whether supporters will be able to continue coming to games is outside our hands, and it would certainly be very concerning and challenging for us if we were to go back to being behind closed doors. But, then in saying that, the reality is there have been slightly fewer supporters coming to games and I think that is largely down to COVID. It’s evolving, what the situation is today won’t necessarily be the case tomorrow.”

Adams added: “Players are doing lateral flow tests before they come to any training sessions now and we’ve been trying to do the right thing. But we knew we had COVID in the camp on Saturday.

"We were concerned about that in relation to the game on Saturday, but we were told we had to play, and one of the players that sat on the bench then tested positive for COVID on Sunday and he was negative on Saturday, positive on Sunday.

"We put all the right protocols in place in terms of training and how we manage COVID in that respect, but it’s challenging. It’s an evolving situation for us and for the league and the FA. It’s difficult times for us and for all sorts of clubs.”