Call a halt to season now – Bont boss

Uncertainty is no good, says Griffiths

PENYBONT boss Rhys Griffiths isn’t in favour of the FAW restarting the J D Cymru Premiership campaign, writes Tony Poole.

Despite sides in the Conference section of the league only having a handful of games left to play, the Cardiff-based firefighter has poured cold water on plans to complete the season.

“End it now, as uncertainty could finish off a lot of clubs,” explained Griffiths, who took over from Francis Ford and Paulo Wiseman at the Penybont helm during the summer of 2016.

He continued: “Not only that but the uncertainty, regarding whether the season will restart or not, is making it much more difficult to plan for next season.’’

“I realise the FAW will soon have to important decision to make, but from a Penybont perspective not knowing what tier the club will be in next season makes my task doubly difficult.’’

Griffiths went on to praise the Penybont directors for the hard work they have performed this season in the SDM Glass Stadium being awarded a full UEFA licence.

“For Penybont to get a full UEFA licence so quickly reflects on the hard work that’s gone on not only on the field of play, but also behind the scenes at the club.

“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my four seasons at Penybont and because of that I’m missing the Bryntirion environment and football in general.

“It has, however, given me a chance to carry on learning Welsh, but other than that like most at the moment all I’m doing is keeping fit.

“After last season’s amazing season when we won the Welsh League with an unbeaten record, the players have continued to work incredibly hard in a bid to consolidate at a higher level.

“But in many ways, the lockdown came at the wrong time for Penybont as a team, because we were starting to pick up points and had the superb win at Aberystwyth Town.’’

Meanwhile, Penybont director Alan Whitely has also said that the club aren’t in favour of playing matches behind closed doors.

“We rely on clubhouse revenue – and with matches played behind closed doors, we’d have no income,” he explained.

“If there’s a practical solution then fine, but matches without fans is logistically a non-starter for Penybont.

“Social distancing problems in changing rooms and testing players would also have to be overcome while playing matches at one venue in our view is another non-starter.’’