FOOTBALLERS’ LIVES
ble is what it is and if football cannot resume we have to make decisions.
“I can understand Coleraine’s frustration but there will be no shame in winning or losing a league in this fashion. We’ve been halted by a pandemic and have to accept reality.
“We can talk about what ifs and buts but when there’s no football being played it’s time to be brave and make a decision.
“From Coleraine’s perspective, there is no shame or embarrassment in losing a title in this manner, there’s just no other way to solve it. The fairest decision for everyone is to award Linfield the league and give the top three teams the European places. I feel for the teams who have been chasing honours and promotion but we have to keep sporting integrity in mind and I would support a 14-team Premiership.
“There needs to be planning done for Europe and next season. I’m a traditionalist in terms of playing from August to May but we will have to see if that’s possible.”
Gorman, whose previous clubs include Portadown and Crusaders, is struggling to reach an optimistic assessment regarding football’s return.
“We haven’t done any coaching since early March,” added the former midfielder who is head of youth at Letterkenny Rovers. “There’s been no real club activity at all. The Munster Senior League were scrapping their season and I think the optimistic outlook is a return in August or September.
“I just feel it might be very difficult for any football to be played this year at all.
“The Government put a five stage plan in place and there’s still a fear of another wave of the virus once people become complacent. The League of Ireland are doing Covid-19 testing with four clubs, including Derry City, but I would have concerns about the cost of it all.
“My son Dale came back from Newport about seven weeks ago but they scrapped League Two because the clubs discovered that the testing and all the health measures accompanying it would cost £25,000 a week. Smaller clubs can’t sustain that.”
The Irish FA has granted the Northern Ireland Football League an extension up to July 31 to finish their season by this date ‘if they so desire’.
• ALL of the coronavirus tests carried out on players and staff at Derry City and three other League of Ireland clubs have returned negative results.
Meanwhile, Ruaidhri Higgins has left Dundalk to join Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny’s backroom staff.