Rebels report first positive COVID test
Slough Town: Club’s concerns taken on board but season continues
Slough Town’s concerns about playing matches while COVID19 takes hold across the country once more have been noted by the National League and its member clubs, but it seems likely that matches will carry on for the time being.
The National League, as well as the National League North and South, are classed as elite football and sides can continue to play matches, despite many teams being in areas placed under tier 4 restrictions this month.
However, in the National League South, not many matches are being played at all, with just three going ahead on Boxing Day and three more on Monday (December 28).
Slough, like many other clubs at their level, do now have a positive COVID-19 case within their camp and, in line with protocols, their matches against Oxford City on Boxing Day and January 2 have been postponed.
Their trip to St Albans City on Monday (December 28) also has to be rearranged due to COVID events in the City squad.
The club’s isolation period is due to end in the middle of next week meaning their next match is likely to be the trip to Dulwich on Saturday, January 9. Next week’s scheduled game against Hampton & Richmond Borough is also likely to be postponed again due to the Rebels requiring training and preparation time.
“It’s a difficult time,” joint manager Jon Underwood admitted.
“It (COVID) seems to have really ramped and that’s being reflected in football just like in wider society.
“We have a positive case in our group now. We had two players report symptoms on Christmas Day, which we had to report to the league.
“I spent a few hours on the phone with them on Christmas Day which is hardly ideal, as did our secretary and others as well.
“But the virus doesn’t wait or stop for Christmas Day.
“Oxford also had two issues themselves so the game on Boxing
Day was called off from both sides.
“We’ve now had those results back and we had one negative and one positive so, obviously, it was right to call the game off.”
Underwood doesn’t think it’s ridiculous to suggest that the COVID-19 infection rate is now similar to where it was at its peak in Apri/May, and reiterated his view that it doesn’t feel right to be playing matches and putting players and club staff at risk.
However, he acknowledges that putting a temporary pause on the season is a difficult decision for the National League to make.
“We as a club wrote to the league on December 21 expressing some concerns with player safety,” he said.
“Everything we were hearing was about how bad everything was and restrictions were being tightened.
“None of that seemed to be consistent with what we were doing, getting together for training.
“But, generally, it’s probably not a ridiculous statement to say we’re in a similar position now to where we were back in April time in terms of cases and restrictions.
“There was no football being played then, and there was no talk of any football being played then.
“But we are playing now and we’re doing so at our level with no testing. It just doesn’t feel right.
“I know that what we said was put to the other clubs in the league. Some agreed with us, some disagreed and said we should carry on. Others didn’t give a firm opinion. Our concerns were noted but I don’t think anything is going to change in the short term.”
A temporary, one month, pause to the season has been suggested by some, but Underwood says it’s not a simple decision for the league to make.
He said: “That’s been suggested by some people. If we knew that in a month’s time everything would be much better that would be a no brainer, I think everyone would say let’s put everything on hold, let’s look after ourselves and ride this out.
“But I don’t think that’s going to be the case personally.
“I think we’re still going to be in a tough place come the end of January. Clubs in general don’t want to pause because they think that if the league pauses it might not restart.”