Players can’t wait to get back out on pitch

Jeanfield Swifts AFC coaching assistant Chris Bell says the players are desperate to get back to training as a group again.

The players are awaiting a decision on whether the season will be cut short.

Swifts were sitting fourth in the A&B Taxi Division One table, three points behind third, after an upturn in form before all Scottish football was suspended in mid-March.

Bell says the players are still in good spirits despite their positive run of results being cut short.

He said: “The guys are chomping at the bit to get back out, even for training.

“We are a club that train twice a week. Both sessions, you get up to 15 boys per session.

“The boys will be missing getting together for a laugh but also the competitiveness.

“With footballing heads on, they’d love to be back out there.

“But a lot of the guys have got kids and see the bigger picture.

“As much as we would love to be out there to finish the season, I think that this [staying at home] takes precedent at the moment.

“We have got ourselves into fourth postion in the league and were pushing to challenge or third. It has been an unbelievable season.

“Sometimes the break can come at the worst possible time.

“For us we would have loved to finish the season on the park, but there are more important things.”

Bell says the club are still waiting on confirmation that the A&B Taxi Division One and Smart Fixings Division Two will be declared.

He said: “The last update I got was that they are just sitting waiting for the season to be confirmed as over.

“There has certainly not been anything set in stone.

“It is a case of as long as everyone follows the government guidelines, the news will trickle down when it does.

“The committee members have been in constant contact with people across the league.

“As players we have been prepared for it, watching the news everyday and seeing the COVID-19 updates.

“Most of us are watching Sky Sports news and getting updates from there.

“I think as a group of players we can see the bigger picture and understand.

“At our level there is a lot more important things than amateur football.

“If we get the news one way or another then we can start planning for next season.

“We know there will be slight changes with some clubs moving but we want to start looking at how we build on this season.

“I think it is only when it is taken away from you that you realise what it means.”