St Johnstone Head of Football Operations Scott Boyd says the club are in ‘constant dialogue’ with the SFA and the Scottish Government after arriving for their match against Celtic rocked by Covid-19.
The Scottish Cup finalists and League Cup winners arrived for the game against Celtic on Wednesday with just 16 players. The club had faced two positive Covid-19 tests prior to last weekend’s Scottish Cup semi-final win with two more in self-isolation.
Celtic thrashed a depleted St Johnstone team. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Zander Clark, Liam Gordon, Michael O’Halloran and Ali McCann dropped out at Celtic Park, and with a Scottish Cup final in nine days, manager Callum Davidson is worried: “It’s very concerning. I think the whole world is concerned about Covid, so it’s not just me, but it’s not a nice situation to be in.
“We’re doing our best with everybody, we’re not experts on it, so we’re trying to get as much help as we can to make sure we’re all safe. We followed Government guidelines and it’s paramount we keep them safe. We’ll get three or four of the players back tomorrow (Thursday), which is great, and the good news is that they’re all asymptomatic, so they are not suffering at all. We must try to stamp it out and we can’t let it fester until next week.”
Boyd says they are speaking with the relevant authorities: “We are in constant dialogue with the SFA and the Scottish Government about this current situation. As always, the health and wellbeing of everyone at the Football Club will be our priority. On a positive note, we are delighted to welcome back a number of our senior players into the group.
“They will be available for selection against Livingston on Saturday. We will keep our supporters updated if we need to share further information. Callum and the players will now focus on Saturday’s vital game and we also look forward to the Scottish Cup Final.”
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