WALES COVID RULES MAY GIVE LEEDS A NIGHTMARE
LEEDS UNITED have had a Welsh road block put in front of their priceless route back to the Premier League.
The Championship leaders have been told that the far tighter lockdown rules in Wales mean they cannot gain Welsh government approval to stay in Cardiff the night before they resume their campaign next Sunday.
Boss Marcelo Bielsa and his Leeds side are due to re-ignite
And the former Celtic stopper reckons the mental strength they showed against the Italians proved they belonged at Parkhead. Now, 13 years on, it could prove a key ingredient in one of them making another big step up – this time to fill Neil Lennon’s vacant No.3 role in his backroom team. Following the return to pre-season training last week, Lennon needs to replace Damien Duff in the dugout. Duff left to take up a position in Stephen Kenny’s new-look Republic of Ireland set-up, leaving Lennon with John Kennedy as his only assistant. The Hoops boss will sift through a flood of external applicants but could opt to promote from within ahead of arguably the biggest season in the club’s history. Pressley reckons current reserve boss Mcmanus and under-18s gaffer O’dea tick plenty of boxes when it comes to what Lennon will be looking for from his candidates. Steeped in club tradition? Check. Winning mentality? Check. Popular with players in the dressing room? Check. For Pressley, who played alongside their season at Cardiff City with a midday kick-off in the Welsh capital, but are struggling to find a hotel in Wales that will let them check in the night before.
Stricter rules over the Severn Bridge mean the handful of hotels in Wales that are currently open are only allowing key workers to stay.
And that means Leeds could face an early morning alarm call somewhere in England – where there are some exemptions given to professional sports people who need an overnight stay in order to work – or face a draining fourhour road trip from Yorkshire, leaving in the early hours.
The club are pinning their hopes on Cardiff City Council, which has the power to grant special dispensation for some workers to join the ranks of nurses, doctors, police and others who are allowed to check in to the limited accommodation that is available.
The lockdown remains far more restrictive in Wales than in England and it means that Leeds could run into the same obstacle when they travel to Swansea City on July 12.
A Welsh government spokesman said: “People who travel for work, and this includes key workers, have to apply to the Welsh government and then the local authority for special dispensation to stay at hotels.”