Edwards is pessimistic about return

BARNSTAPLE Town manager Dean Edwards thinks the Southern League will only resume once the coronavirus vaccines have been rolled out.

Edwards admits it has been tough for him after a career in football stretching back to when he made his professional debut for Shrewsbury Town in 1980.

And he cannot see a return for the Division One South team – and neighbours Bideford – until the country has been immunised.

“I did say some time back we wouldn’t play again this season and I don’t think we will,” said the 58-year-old former Wolverhampton Wanderers, Exeter City and Torquay United striker.

The Southern League was suspended at the start of November but while the leagues above and below have restarted, with many of the Southern League’s teams based in London and other major cities, the tier system meant clubs voted to continue the pause in play.

Edwards said: “You can’t keep stopping and starting seasons and you can’t keep playing without crowds.

Edwards is worried that the coronavirus pandemic is going to have an impact on young players’ futures in the game.

He said: “What really gets me is there are players who are 16 or 17 and they are just starting their careers.

“They have geared most of their lives to being footballers. We have got young Ollie Tomlinson on loan from Plymouth Argyle – and he hasn’t played this season! It’s unfair.

“And then on the other side of the coin, you have the lads who are in their early 30s who are at the end of their careers – and some won’t play again. It’s just sad.

“I don’t think the whole thing has been governed properly – they keep locking people down and then letting them back out again. And that’s why I said the vaccine is important because that’s the only way things are going to get back to normal.”