June finish could get us all 38 games, says Lawlor
NORTHERN Ireland Football League chiefs have raised the prospect of a June finish to the Danske Bank Premiership season in a bid to reach their target of a 38-game top flight.
The mid-october start, combined with postponements due to Covid-19 outbreaks and the cold weather on top of a twoweek circuit breaker, has resulted in a busy schedule until the summer.
In a press briefing yesterday, interim NIFL managing director Stephen Mills and NIFL chairman Gerard Lawlor said they were not neglecting player welfare concerns in reinforcing the desire for 38 games to be completed along with Europa League play-offs and Irish Cup fixtures.
The Irish FA met on Thursday night and decided that the Irish Cup will start, and be played to a conclusion, in May — a development which was news to Lawlor.
If 38 games cannot be reached, the league can be called at match day 33 but NIFL bosses still feel that a full slate of 38 matches is within reach.
“We are a members-led body and we speak to the clubs,” said Cliftonville chairman Lawlor.
“We always have concerns for the health and welfare of everyone but we have taken a lot of feedback from clubs and the over-riding feeling is they are happy to play 38 games and that is the deciding factor for us.
“Some clubs will get knocked out of the Irish Cup and we can utilise some of those dates.
“We are still looking for clarity around the end of May. Uefa have talked around June 1 for European nominations and we are still in discussions with them.”
Lawlor added: “My personal opinion is I believe there can be flexibility and stretch match days for another week.
“We could get another week in June and we are monitoring that closely.”
Mills said: “We have worked until the end of May but the registration period runs to June 9 and that gives us wriggle room.
“The calendar is congested but the clubs have accepted they are in the same boat and it’s Saturday-tuesday for most weeks from now until the end of the season. But it’s fair to say we can’t afford to lose many more matches. However, the agreed policy is to play as many games as possible. The ambition remains 38 but if the situation changes 33 becomes a consideration.”
The round of 32 Irish Cup ties, drawn in December, are set to take place at the beginning of May — Covid-19 restrictions permitting — with dates for the remainder of the competition still to be scheduled.
As it stands, only the 12 Irish Premiership clubs of the 32 teams involved are deemed ‘elite’. Some clubs have expressed concerns about returning to play after such a long time out in the cold and NIFL insist the clubs can make their own decision on whether to participate.
Lawlor added: “The Irish Cup is not our competition. The Irish FA run the Irish Cup and it will be a decision for the NIFL member clubs. If we can help the clubs and government allow us to do that we can help them prepare for it.”
Asked about a number of matches switching venues in the last week because of the weather, Lawlor admitted that the league “dodged a bullet” by the Warrenpoint Town-glentoran match being postponed last Saturday after the venue had been switched.
The match was originally due to take place at Milltown but when the pitch was waterlogged it was moved to the Glens’ Oval home, only for the pitch there to later fail an inspection. The decision to switch the game to east Belfast had raised questions about the number of home games each side in the Premiership would play during the course of the season, with the two remaining matches between the sides due to be played at Milltown.
“We were under a lot of pressure, there was a decision made and being totally truthful, hand on heart, I think we were very lucky that game was called off,” Lawlor explained. “I think we dodged a bullet because, with hindsight, that could have been the wrong decision and could have caused controversy.”