Football doesn’t mean much when people are dying
THE place where Alex Dyer took his first steps in football is no longer a site for childhood dreams. It now serves a far grimmer purpose for the people of London.
A temporary morgue is being built on Wanstead Flats. This 334-acre of grassland in the east of the capital has been taken over by the government to provide additional mortuary space as the coronavirus pandemic continues to take its terrible toll.
For the Kilmarnock manager, there could be no more sobering reminder of how deeply this crisis is striking into the fabric of the nation. Everything else pales towards insignificance.
Dyer only signed a contract until the end of the season when he stepped up to replace Angelo Alessio in December. A number of Kilmarnock players will also see their deals expire this summer before — in all likelihood — a ball is kicked again in the professional game.
For now, though, football concerns must be set aside. Back home as the lockdown continues, and awaiting news on financial measures being taken at Rugby Park, Dyer’s priorities are shaped by the situation around him.
‘I live in South London, but I was born in East London and they have put up one of the morgues in Wanstead Flats,’ said the 54-year-old.
‘That’s not far from where my mum still lives. I used to go and play there as a kid and I know the site well. It must have been a daunting sight to see that go up.
‘This is where it becomes real because that’s where we grew up and played football, where I learned my trade. I went to Forest Gate School, which is just up the road from Wanstead Flats.
‘I only found out yesterday when one of my old school-mates put it online that one of the makeshift morgues has been built there and I saw it when I watched the news.
‘That brought it all home for me. So everyone has to do the right things and stop spreading this disease.
‘That’s where we are at the moment and that’s why it is hard for me to talk about football right now when I know things like this are happening in the world.
‘Football doesn’t mean much at the moment when people are dying.
‘I know we have to do our jobs and keep things afloat, but it’s most important that people follow the guidelines and stay home.
‘I go out, have an exercise and a run and then I do a bit of shopping for mum and my sisters. I quickly get in the car with my wife and take the stuff around and then get back in. People have to do the right thing.’
Amid this emergency, football clubs are having to find ways to make sure they are still functioning once it is over.
A number of Scottish Premiership clubs have already taken action, with staff and players being furloughed by some and wage deferrals set up elsewhere.
Dyer admits that Kilmarnock are having to consider difficult steps of their own.
‘We’ve spoken about it,’ he said. ‘Nothing has been decided at this present time.
‘Obviously, with the government and the furlough, it might come to this club. You have the big clubs in the English Premier League talking about it and putting their non-playing staff on it.
‘If they can do it, then why can’t someone like Kilmarnock if it has to be that way? It’s not come to that just yet. We’ll find out soon. Everyone knows what they are doing.’
That backdrop leaves Dyer completely in agreement that talk of new contracts must be shelved. Uncertainty might linger over his future but this is not a time for rapid resolutions.
‘I’m managing a football club at the moment as best that I can,’ he continued. ‘When the powers-that-be tell me something different, then I’ll act according to that.
‘Right now, I am manager and I will do the best I can for the club during these uncertain times.
‘I’ll keep the players abreast of what is going on and, when the time comes for them to tell me what is going on, I’ll take it on the chin whether it is a good thing or a bad thing and move on.
‘We had a meeting before the break-up and certain things were pointed out which I obviously can’t discuss now, but it’s just about taking the club forward during this important period and making sure everyone is okay.
‘Once government gives the go-ahead for people to go back to jobs and working, then football will look after itself.’
Scotland right-back Stephen O’Donnell, club captain Gary Dicker and veteran winger Chris Burke are among the first-team players at Rugby Park whose contracts expire in the next couple of months.
‘We will be in a position to speak when the time is right,’ added Dyer, who also operates as Steve Clarke’s No 2 with Scotland. ‘This is not the right time. They all know that.’
Dyer called every member of his squad last week to make sure they and their families were okay. On Thursday, he hosted a Zoom video meeting with the players to discuss the implications of no football for the foreseeable future.
‘We gave the players fitness plans and other stuff to get on with,’ he said. ‘I told them that they might need to come off it a little bit because we don’t know when we will get a date. You can’t just keep training and training.
‘They need time to settle down and then when we come back, we will have a pre-season anyway.
‘I won’t stalk the players: I won’t ring them every day. However, I’ll speak with them once a week, get everyone together on Zoom — we did it the other day and it was a good laugh.
‘Obviously, quite a few of the players are out of contract this summer and I know that, deep down, they will be worrying about that.
‘But, as I said, we’ll deal with that at the right time.’
Football doesn’t mean much when people are dying