Neilston co-boss Chris Cameron is delighted his club have now been given a definitive date to either return to action or scrap their current campaign.
But he admits he’s disappointed it has taken this long for the West of Scotland Football League (WOSFL) to put some pressure on the SFA and the Scottish Government to allow what, he feels, is a long overdue return to action.
A statement released by the league body on Wednesday revealed that all divisions, including Conference B in which the Farmer’s Boys and Johnstone Burgh are both currently competing in, will be declared null and void if teams aren’t allowed to return to full-contact training by Saturday, April 3.
They believe that would allow enough time to complete the remaining fixtures should matches resume from Saturday April 17 at the latest, depending on whether they get the go ahead from government officials and the SFA to work to that time frame.
Neilston co-manager Cameron is glad the WOSFL has taken action to provide a clear target for their clubs, but he feels players have been kept out of the loop for too long as they desperately await a return to the pitch.
Cameron told Express Sport: “I’m glad they’ve finally put a date to it. If we aren’t up and running again by April 3 then that’s curtains and at least we have something definitive to work with.
“I had really hoped that something like this would have come a lot sooner. Personally, I don’t feel there’s been enough pressure put on to get us back playing.
“It’s not been fair on the players, who still don’t know if they’ve got a season to come back to. I still don’t know why we’re not back already. If it was safe enough for us to be playing in December, how is it any worse now?
“I don’t think it should ever have been stopped. We had all the procedures in place to make an outside pitch a very safe place to be. I see people playing five-a-side, seven-a-side and even full games now in parks. There’s no way that’s safer.
“It’s still early March. I would hope in the next week or two we’ll be allowed to return to training, then hopefully we can get back to games in early April.”
While Neilston currently sit top of Conference B having won all eight of their matches before another coronavirus spike called the season to a halt late last year, Cameron is adamant being able to compete for the league title is not currently the club’s main priority.
He insists the Farmer’s Boys are instead focusing on their players’ health and mental wellbeing.
Cameron added: “We’re honestly not that fussed about league positions at the moment. Regardless of form and the league position, we’re just desperate to get back up and running again.
“I think our lads would be fine to get back playing this Saturday if we were given the nod.
"No doubt you’d have a few niggles after not playing competitively for a while, but I’d be happy for us to go straight back
in.”
