Best of Buds Covid hell may help us recover says Erhahon
Ethan Erhahon reckons the Covid chaos that wreaked havoc with St Mirren’s season could prove to be a blessing in disguise.
The midfielder was one of the Buddies stars who tested positive last month in an outbreak which eventually saw Jim Goodwin’s entire squad forced into quarantine.
Saints returned from four weeks in cold storage on Friday with an impressive performance in a goalless draw against Dundee United.
That ended a horror spell that had seen the Paisley men lose six league games on the spin before the virus intervened.
Scotland Under-19 international Erhahon said: “We helped each other through the isolation thing .
“As soon as I tested positive the texts were flying in asking how I was feeling and telling me to look after myself.
“There’s a great team ethic and when you have it results will come.”
Erhahon wound up locked in his house for the best part of the month. No sooner had he returned from an initial 10- day quarantine after his own positive test than he was straight back into isolation after more Buddies fell victim to the virus. Goodwin’s squad only managed a few days’ full training before going into Friday night’s match which saw them climb off bottom spot.
Erhahon, who struck up an instant relationship with new boy Jake Doyle-Hayes, said: “It’s been tough having to isolate, not getting to train or to play and you could tell by the last 20 minutes some of us were knackered.
“I tested positive, though thankfully I was asymptomatic.
“It still meant 10 days without leaving the house . Al l I seemed to do was play on the PlayStation and it felt like a long time. “Then I was allowed out and managed to get some proper exercise but next thing we were back in isolation when another couple of the lads tested positive and the club was hit with a Public Health Order.
“It set us all back. We’ve only had maybe five or six days back in training, so it hasn’t been easy.” Saints will hope to build momentum this week with the resumption of their Betfred Cup group. They top Group G and have a derby aga inst Mor ton on Wednesday. Erhahon said : “After that we’ve got three games in hand in the league so it’s important we get points from them.”