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Wanderers boss Ian Evatt believes the EFL need to make a swift decision on how they intend to cope with the rising number of Covid-19 cases and their impact on the fixture list.
Several games were called off in midweek, including Bolton’s home tie with Morecambe in League Two, as football mirrored the national trend of rising infections.
The worrying spike has forced some – including ex-Bolton boss Sam Allardyce – to call for a ‘circuit breaker’ which would put the game into lockdown.
Evatt hopes such drastic action is not needed but foresees a big rise in absentees next week when his own squad, along with all others in the EFL, are given mandatory tests.
“I think first and foremost we have to make sure that everyone’s health and safety is paramount,” he said.
“Obviously the situation in the country is getting worse, deteriorating fast, and we’re in tier four, which is more or less the same up and down the country. What difference that will make, I don’t know.
“But at the minute it is really starting to affect everything, football wise, and you have to start questioning the spirit of the competition.
“People are falling behind on games and fixtures, it is difficult with training, and we start testing again next week and what we’ll find we don’t really know because a lot of the cases are asymptomatic.
“It has to be looked at – but do I think that a circuit breaker is a good idea? Probably not. I don’t see how you start fitting the games in.
“But we have to come to some decision soon because the situation is deteriorating not only with the general public but in football as well.”
Extending the season could cause logistical problems in the summer for a schedule which was already packed in to accommodate the later start.
Up to now, EFL clubs have been selectively tested for Covid-19 but the high cost of tests mean clubs cannot be made to do them independently, nor as regularly as in the Premier League.
The top-flight released a statement on Wednesday night to confirm they had no plans to ‘pause’ the campaign and were satisfied with their own safety protocols. But the situation in the EFL could escalate next week when widescale testing is implemented.
“There are lots of big decisions to be made but I don’t think we can leave it a lot longer before we address it,” Evatt said. “You saw the number of games being called off in midweek and it’ll be the same again Saturday.
“When we start getting tested next week we are obviously going to find more. We don’t know if we have it because we could be symptom free – and especially with sportsmen – so it is a difficult one to answer.”
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Several games were called off in midweek, including Bolton’s home tie with Morecambe in League Two, as football mirrored the national trend of rising infections.
The worrying spike has forced some – including ex-Bolton boss Sam Allardyce – to call for a ‘circuit breaker’ which would put the game into lockdown.
Evatt hopes such drastic action is not needed but foresees a big rise in absentees next week when his own squad, along with all others in the EFL, are given mandatory tests.
“I think first and foremost we have to make sure that everyone’s health and safety is paramount,” he said.
“Obviously the situation in the country is getting worse, deteriorating fast, and we’re in tier four, which is more or less the same up and down the country. What difference that will make, I don’t know.
“But at the minute it is really starting to affect everything, football wise, and you have to start questioning the spirit of the competition.
“People are falling behind on games and fixtures, it is difficult with training, and we start testing again next week and what we’ll find we don’t really know because a lot of the cases are asymptomatic.
“It has to be looked at – but do I think that a circuit breaker is a good idea? Probably not. I don’t see how you start fitting the games in.
“But we have to come to some decision soon because the situation is deteriorating not only with the general public but in football as well.”
Extending the season could cause logistical problems in the summer for a schedule which was already packed in to accommodate the later start.
Up to now, EFL clubs have been selectively tested for Covid-19 but the high cost of tests mean clubs cannot be made to do them independently, nor as regularly as in the Premier League.
The top-flight released a statement on Wednesday night to confirm they had no plans to ‘pause’ the campaign and were satisfied with their own safety protocols. But the situation in the EFL could escalate next week when widescale testing is implemented.
“There are lots of big decisions to be made but I don’t think we can leave it a lot longer before we address it,” Evatt said. “You saw the number of games being called off in midweek and it’ll be the same again Saturday.
“When we start getting tested next week we are obviously going to find more. We don’t know if we have it because we could be symptom free – and especially with sportsmen – so it is a difficult one to answer.”
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