Keeping St Mirren fans safe is the highest priority this season.
That’s the belief of Saints keeper Jak Alnwick, who himself caught coronavirus earlier this month.
The former Newcastle goalie missed three games after contracting Covid-19, with Hearts ’ Bobby Zlamal taking up his place between the sticks after joining on an emergency loan deal.
But as calls grow for supporters to be let back into stands across Scotland as soon as possible, the 27-year-old is adamant that should only happen when it is absolutely safe to do so.
“I was ill for two days but not with the symptoms you would expect from coronavirus,” he explained to Express Sport.
“I think we are second-guessing what the symptoms are. A lot of people are worse than others and unfortunately people have died from it.
"I was one of the lucky ones in a way that I’ve got over it pretty quickly. I’m young and fit and I was ill for two days, but it affects a lot of people in different ways and I’d like everyone to stay safe.
“I had two days of feeling under the weather but it’s serious. As footballers we are not untouchable.
“Some people get a positive test and don’t have symptoms at all. Some people get it really bad and end up in hospital. The numbers are going up which is unfortunate because we wanted to get the fans back.
“But until it’s safe to do so I think it’s only right we keep them away.
“We need to stick to every rule going so that everyone keeps safe.”
Alnwick has had to watch from home as his teammates have struggled to five consecutive losses in recent weeks.
The ex- Rangers keeper admits it hasn’t been pleasant viewing but refused to use his absence as an excuse for St Mirren’s poor run of form after returning to the side in their 1-0 defeat to Kilmarnock on Saturday.
And he hopes the Buddies can rediscover their early form from this season as they look to battle away from the bottom of the table.
He said: “It was not the comeback I was hoping for and it has been tough watching. It wasn’t nice watching the boys lose three games when I was away.
“It’s something I think a lot of teams are going to have to deal with in the coming weeks though. It was frustrating but safety is important to everyone.
“I think you can always use excuses and look at different things. We started the season well but sometimes you just go through bad runs.
“I’ve been at clubs before and been thinking we were going to get promoted and we’ve ended up being relegated.
“It’s one of those things. When you are having a bad spell you just need to dig in there.
“We will do well if we can play like we did in the second 45 minutes, although we didn’t create much, we were committed and on the front foot.
“But I don’t think you can blame the virus. Bobby came in and did brilliantly. He’s an experienced goalkeeper.
“It wasn’t like we played a young lad in goal, and he did well.
“We will work hard and I’ve no doubt we will dig in ahead of a tough game on Friday.
“We started the season well and hopefully there’s something just around the corner where we can string a few wins together.”
