Neil Warnock has branded footballers who refuse to get double vaccinated as “wrong”.
The Middlesbrough manager has admitted that most of his players have not been inoculated, leaving them more vulnerable to catching and spreading Covid-19.
The Government is demanding that all adult fans be vaccinated to attend events with crowds of over 20,000 by the end of September - which would look like a hollow demand if star players haven't been jabbed.
Warnock, 72, who was one of the first managers to contract the respiratory disease last year, said: "For whatever reason, the majority of the players don’t have vaccinations which I think is wrong. That’s how it goes.
“We’ve had a few little sniffs of the virus which we’ve got to overcome. We’re still getting tested every day.
“It’s every individual but I think it’s proven that if you’ve had two jabs you can go everywhere you want and come back.
“We’ve just got to be so careful because we are mixing with fans now. It’s so easy. We’ve had a couple of cases similar to that and nobody knows where they caught it.”
Asked if that would wreck a Government policy to only admit vaccinated fans, Warnock added: “I agree totally. I think the fans should get on their websites and demand that the players have them because I can only say so much.”
Warnock says he is up for the new season, which might not be his last despite an amazing 40-year career in the dug-out: “I might stay another five years, who knows!”
Warnock, who faces Fulham on Sunday in their Championship opener, said: “Forty-odd years I have been managing, crikey. One thing I have not lost is wanting to win.
“It's 11 on the pitch, one manager against me. I still want that. I am looking forward to it like I'm a young pup, wanting to succeed like I was starting my career, even though I am finishing it.”
Warnock prepped his Boro players for the new season with home-made burgers at a barbecue at his farm in Cornwall.
A record eight promotions into his career, with the target a ninth this campaign, he said: “I like it when we are not favourites. We are better when we are underdogs.
"We have that kind of lad in the team. We have lads who could play higher too.
"We make up for individual quality with teamwork and the dressing room spirit has to take us along.”
Warnock is using an app on his phone to communicate with new Argentine signing Martin Payero and he added: “I speak into it and it comes up in Spanish for him!
"But he already knows certain words I use... he has seen some phrases from me on YouTube!
“Sometimes you need someone to unlock the door and Martin has got that.”
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