Hibees boss Ross rejects notion footballers are being complacent

Hibernian head coach Jack Ross has dismissed any suggestion that Scottish football has allowed complacency to creep into the ongoing battle with Covid-19.

Ross is adamant Premiership clubs – along with Hearts and Glasgow City, who have also resumed training – are being held to a higher standard than other industries which have resumed operation.

Players and staff at all sides are tested twice a week, have their temperatures routinely monitored and adhere to social distancing where possible.

At Hibs, employees are spread over different changing rooms, use the gym and showers in limited numbers and have their food served in individual tubs.

And he does not believe the events at Aberdeen should detract from the efforts being put in place to ensure the sport can continue.

Asked if the cancellation of the Dons’ encounter with St Johnstone was a ‘wake-up call’, Ross said: “I don’t think anyone in Scottish football ever believed we were immune to this.

“There is no complacency or belief from my players that they are any different from the general public.

“We have had to adhere to a lot of guidelines and a lot of procedures – more than the majority of other industries in this country.

“We should remember that. There are not many industries testing their players twice a week. Football has not been complacent or disrespectful towards the guidelines – far from it.”

Ross, meanwhile, conceded that it was impossible to monitor players 24 hours a day and accepted that there is an element of trust required.

As such, he had nothing but praise for his squad.

Ross added: “I can’t control what they do every single minute of every day but, equally, I’ve got a group that’s sensible and I’ve got good leadership within that changing room.

“I believe that they’ll be doing everything that’s expected of them.”

Meanwhile Marvin Bartley admits former Hibs team-mate Martin Boyle is “almost unstoppable”, but the Livingston midfielder hopes his inside knowledge can help him halt the winger.

Boyle scored a double as Hibs beat Kilmarnock in their Scottish Premiership opener and will be reunited with Bartley at the Tony Macaroni Arena today.

When asked about Boyle’s form, Bartley said: “Absolutely brilliant. He always had the pace and now he has the end product to go with it. He works really hard on his game in training.

“He is almost becoming unstoppable. We need to find a way to stop him on Saturday and hopefully we can do that. His pace is electric and we need to stop the ball into him, and when he does get the ball be very tight to him so he can’t pick up pace.

No complacency from Hibs players, says boss Jack Ross.