The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
County ‘taking great care’
ABERDEEN: RIGHT CALL FOR SCOTTISH FOOTBALL WRITERS TO GIVE LEWIS YOUNG PLAYER OF YEAR
Defender Liam Fontaine says Ross County have done everything possible to make sure their training base is as safe as possible.
Stuart Kettlewell’s side began training on Thursday and former Hibernian defender Fontaine was thrilled to be back on the pitch after such a lengthy break.
He said: “It is great to be back with the boys.
“My group was group one in the morning and we did our checks, questionnaires and had our temperatures taken.
“We got the all-clear and then had to wait in our cars, following the social distancing protocols.
“Then we were lucky enough to get on the pitch and it was a great feeling to be back on the grass.”
Fontaine has been impressed with the manner of County’s approach to dealing with the Covid-19 outbreak, which has included spending £35,000 on a testing machine.
The central defender said: “We have had great care from Ross County.
“The manager was asking if everybody was happy with the protocols that are in place.
“We got tested at the start of the week and everyone came back negative, which was brilliant.
“The set-up at the ground is good so my view is it is low-risk going into the club.
“There is probably more risk going into the shops.”
In the three months since a ball was last kicked in anger, there has been little in the way of good news as Scottish football tore itself apart; with administrators and some clubs making extraordinary decisions and mistakes.
There has been in-fighting and accusation, threats of legal action, misinformation and mismanagement as the game too often failed miserably to deal with the Covid-19 crisis.
But this week we finally had some positivity as full details of James Anderson’s donation were made public. It made sense to lodge the money with the SPFL Trust, a move which generated a further £625,000 in gift aid and it will be a financial lifeline for so many.
The £50,000 grants that clubs are now able to apply for will help to keep many, hopefully all, SPFL clubs in business and see them through to a point where they can start to raise their own income again.
I would hope that the bigger clubs do not take the cash, but I would imagine most will. If they do, there is the option to pass the donation on to their own charitable trusts and it would be good to think that they will go down that route.
I still feel they should have been excluded from the scheme – the money in question is hardly significant to the wealthier clubs – and that would have meant more being available to those who really need it, but it will still have a major impact and it is a marvellous gesture from Mr Anderson.
In the wake of that announcement, the clubs met to discuss the latest reconstruction proposals to have been put on the table. As anticipated, there was not sufficient support for Ann Budge’s suggestion, but the idea being put forward by Rangers for “B” teams entering the league certainly created more interest.
Ultimately, there was not the backing for an immediate implementation of that, but it may gain traction in the months ahead.
The clubs were then presented with yet another option, a 14-1010-10 setup; the only one
I was delighted to hear that my colleagues in the written press had chosen Lewis Ferguson as the SFWA young player of the year.
He’s the first Aberdeen player to have landed that award and the first Dons star to be recognised by the writers since Alex McLeish was named player of the year back in 1990.
Lewis faced stiff competition – Allan Campbell and Ali which ensures no clubs are unfairly punished and which allows both Brora Rangers and Kelty Hearts to step up.
I have been consistent in my belief that we do not need reconstruction, that the present system has worked well for the past seven seasons.
I also feel this is entirely the wrong time to make a long-term change.
But I do concede there is a degree of injustice in Hearts, Partick Thistle and Stranraer being relegated and to be honest, I have grown so weary of all this that now might just be the time to bite the bullet.
McCann both had excellent campaigns – but he was the right call and it is just reward for his incredible levels of consistency.
Full details have yet to be made public, but if it is to be permanent, that will certainly get the backing of a group of Premiership clubs whose chances of survival will increase.
Time is of the essence as the 2020-21 fixture list is due to be published within days. We will know by mid-morning on Monday if this latest plan looks like a goer; if not, that has to be it, no more talk of reconstruction, no more whinging or threats, the clubs simply have to get on with it after the most difficult few months the Scottish game has ever known.
He quickly became a fixture in the side, has flourished during that time and has of course scored some spectacular goals.
As his dad Derek is quick to tell me, there is much more to come from Lewis and it was good to see him bat away speculation of an approach from Rangers. The midfielder has a glowing career ahead of him and plenty still to achieve at Pittodrie.