Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
SPORT Gills still plan ahead
Gillingham boss Steve Evans and the club’s senior staff are putting plans in place for a return to action.
There is no firm date when football can resume – although early June has been muted – as the professional game is awaiting instructions from the government when it is safe to do so. The EFL hope clubs can train again in mid-may, however, and they are looking into ways players and coaching staff can be tested for Covid19, with games being played behind closed doors.
Evans has already tentatively sorted out some warm-up matches to ensure they will be flying when football gets the green light again.
The Gills boss said: “The boys are good mentally and physically, we are in a good place, we are ready to go.”
Peterborough United have already sounded the Gills out about a game and Evans has also contacted West Ham United for a match to put the squad through their paces.
“I have got a couple lined up,” said Evans.
“I keep in touch with Darragh Macanthony (the Peterborough chairman) and he is fighting the case more than anyone (to finish the season) and so he should be, he has invested millions upon millions. “We have finished with each other, we can help them, they can help us. He mentioned it and I thought it was a great idea right away. The games are always competitive, played in the right way.
“We want to make sure that if the government and the Prime Minister do say (we can resume) in two weeks, or 10 days’ time, we are ready to come out and that we are one million per cent ready to go and we are.
“We are more hopeful now that we will have some sort of chance to get back on the training ground and play, albeit with no spectators for a while. “We see the government talking about the five key benchmarks, that they need to deliver on and we seem to be on track.
“If we are on track with that in a couple of weeks then we will see enough easement where businesses will be open and although we won’t be anywhere back to normal, I certainly think we will be back on the training ground and getting ready to play football.”
The club are currently considering whether to do their pitch renovations now, or wait. The final game of the season would have taken place on Sunday, at home to Bristol Rovers, which would have soon been followed by extensive work on the Priestfield surface. That could now be done, ahead of a return to action in early June.