Players need changing rooms or they won’t play
EK Thistle boss Iain Diack says denying players changing room access could leave teams without key men in the depths of winter – because they won’t want to get into their cars in dirty kit.
The Jags played their first game in six months on Saturday when they lost 3-0 away to Blantyre Victoria in a friendly, which was played behind closed doors.
Under current guidelines, players must arrive stripped for the game and return home without a shower or use of changing rooms to limit the spread of Covid-19.
But with the new season set to kick-off on October 10, Diack is calling on the governing bodies to solve the conundrum before the competitive action gets underway
He said:“We need to sort out a lot of problems as the weather gets worse and boys can’t get showered.
“The league starts in October, so you are coming straight into your winter months after that; the weather isn’t going to get better.
“If guys are getting drenched - and mucky - and we are expecting them to go into their brand new car or whatever, then guys will end up going:‘Naw, I’m not coming this week, it’s gonna be pouring with rain and I’ve just bought a new car.’
“If you get soaked through and you end up not well, that can cause health problems that way as well.
“The league needs to come up with a way to get the dressing rooms opened up.”
In the top flight in Scotland, Premiership players - who are regularly tested for Covid-19 - are allowed access to changing rooms in separate areas from their opponents, but also go home without showering.
Diack added:“From what we’ve been told, you need to be in contact with someone for 15 minutes for it [Covid] to be passed on, so I don’t see why boys getting quickly washed, dried and away can be an issue.
“It definitely needs looked at.”