LOI club ‘experts in the art of survival’
Noonan: amateur status a blessing
WITH LEAGUE of Ireland sides struggling to keep their heads above water due to the impact of the coronavirus crisis, Wexford F.C. are better equipped than most to deal with the uncertain future.
While the likes of Sligo Rovers, Cork City and Drogheda United have had to announce lay-offs and stop paying staff due to the absence of match day revenue, the Model county outfit have continually had to cut their cloth to fit, and club Treasurer and Secretary Ray Noonan says it’s helpful in these trying times.
‘We’ve become experts in the art of survival. Obviously we’ve one of the lowest budgets in the league but we’ve made sure to fit within that.
‘People would have been critical of us in terms of not spending money on players or investing, but we just don’t have it so we made sure that we’re solid as best we can,’ he said.
Having to pay staff has obviously placed a massive strain on a number of clubs, but the amateur ethos of Wexford F.C. has minimised the pain of the enforced absence.
‘When this happened we acted quickly. Our big expenses would be playing some players expenses. We don’t have any full-time staff or full-time players so that wasn’t a problem for us.
‘We suspended expenses for players who were travelling distances because we’re not asking them to travel. We can suspend things like our insurance as well, which is a big cost, and various other bits and pieces.
‘On the other side we’ve nothing coming in, so we have to be careful. We’re run by volunteers, we’ve no full-time staff, that poses its own difficulties, but it means we don’t have a serious hit at a time like this,’ Noonan explained.
Not everything is rosy in the garden, however, with the sudden lack of football hitting hard, after Brian O’Sullivan’s side have made a solid, if unspectacular, start to the season, drawing two of their three league games to date.
‘It’s more frustrating from the playing side of it than anything. The senior team were in action and were building up a bit of momentum. I was very happy with the way the squad was shaping up this year, so that’s frustrating.
‘Everyone else was gearing up for their seasons, under-age and women’s teams. There was so much going on around the place and everybody was looking forward to it, but there’s more important things at the moment. Hopefully we’ll wait it out and we’ll be fit and ready when football resumes,’ he said.
Keeping players in tip-top condition when there’s no collective training is an obvious headache for all codes during this unwelcome hiatus, but Wexford F.C. are doing their utmost to step up to the challenge.
‘We’ve asked our coaches to devise personal training programmes. We acted fairly quickly and got the instructions out there to all squads that there was to be no collective sessions. Ferrycarrig Park is locked up at the moment in case people are tempted to congregate.
‘Hopefully the lads will be keeping themselves in good shape, obviously it’s far removed from what they’d be doing in normal circumstances, but the schedule announced would allow for two weeks’ pre-season training and every team will be in the same boat.
‘The sooner we get back the better, but we should be able to ride it out,’ he said.
Following talks on Friday, the FAI are targeting a resumption of League of Ireland games on June 19, and whether a return on that date is feasible or not, Wexford F.C. will be ready to go back into battle, if and when the time comes.
‘That might be a bit ambitious, who knows, but it’s still nice to have a target to aim at and something to look forward to and aim for. If things begin to turn around maybe that can be delivered and we’ll all get back into it again,’ he said.
If the league can resume in June, despite the truncated season, second tier teams hope to complete their full fixture schedule, and clubs have already come together to try to find the best possible solution.
‘First Division clubs have had a lot more contact with each other this season over the Shamrock Rovers issue, so as a result we’re now working on a schedule where we should be able to fit in all the league games between that date in June and the November date that the season is due to finish.
‘I think we could manage that and it would only involve a couple of games being squeezed in midweek. It’s very uncertain because we don’t know if we’ll be in a position to come back in three months or not.
‘In fairness to the FAI, they’re doing what they can and I’ve been very impressed with the new guys that have come in in very difficult circumstances,’ he said.