HARVEY’S FAN RETURN CALL
Glencairn boss fears crisis with no crowds
Glencairn boss Willie Harvey has warned the SFA and Scottish Government that West of Scotland League sides won’t survive without fans.
The Glens are just weeks away from kicking off their debut West of Scotland League campaign on October 10.
With the Rutherglen side still waiting on the green light for fans to return to the Hamish B Allan Stadium, the gaffer has fears over the future of the non-league game.
He reckons that a socially distanced return to the stands is vital for the new sixth tier, as the club get used to the new normal in the midst of the pandemic.
“We’re still waiting on the goahead for games after going back to training,” said Harvey.
“We have got the stadium ready within the guidelines and we have done all the Covid training courses.
“The players have been driving to training separately and not showering at the stadium; they go home.
“We have organised a company to come in and do a deep clean of the dressing rooms. We are doing everything we can to understand the ins and outs of it to make sure we can get games on and fans in the stadium.
“I don’t think football at our level will be able to survive without fans if we are all honest.”
The financial impact on lower league would be substantial and Harvey hopes a way can be found to let fans back through the turnstiles soon rather than later.
He added: “You miss out on tickets and you miss out on the match day money raised and it would hit every club at our level.
“But it’s totally out of our hands.
“We just need to take the advice of the governing body and the Scottish Government.
“For me, it doesn’t help that things are so stop-start and it would be good to have clarity.
“With the Premiership teams not letting fans in, you could see people coming to smaller grounds to get to watch a game.
“You look at Celtic and they are going to get 700 fans in a 60,000 seater stadium if they are lucky, so a lot of people might miss out.
“Fans could come to watch the Glens or Cambuslang and be socially distanced and get to see a game of football; that could be a financial boost for us when we need it.
“It would be a great time for fans to get back and see their local team but everything seems to change every week.”