Tommy Wright and his St Johnstone players are offering a helping hand to elderly season ticket holders by giving them a kind-hearted phone call amid the coronavirus outbreak. 

With Scottish football on shutdown the Perth side, along with the rest of the Scottish Premiership, are working from home with players on personalised training programmes and strict diet regimes.

And now Saints are incorporating daily check calls to elderly supporters to see if there’s anything the club can do to assist during the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.

McDiarmid Park gaffer Wright said: “It’s important to look out for your family members, friends and neighbours. These are unprecedented times for this country and indeed the world, and we need to check in on those who are most vulnerable.

“While football remains suspended, myself, my staff and the players will be phoning around our elderly season ticket holders for a quick chat and to see if there is anything that the club can do to assist. Once we have called our elderly supporters, we will do our best to phone round as many season ticket holders as possible for as long as this break from football continues.

“So, if you receive a phone call from myself or one of the staff or players, it isn’t a hoax!”

The Perth manager also urged supporters of all ages to be sensible when shopping and advised them to avoid bulk buying at all costs.

He added: “I’ve seen myself first-hand the situation in supermarkets with empty shelves and I’d like to ask everybody to remain sensible when it comes to shopping. My brother works in the retail industry and he has assured me that there is more than enough food for everyone as long as people don’t stockpile food and buy more than they need. It’s the most vulnerable people at this time who suffer most from empty supermarket shelves."

Yesterday the SFA and SPFL Joint Response Group confirmed that football in Scotland won't resume before April 30 - but they stressed the shutdown is likely to remain in force for some time after that.

Wright admitted he was unsure how the season will be played out but insited his players would be up to speed and ready for action as soon as competitive action returns.

He said: “On the football side of things, there is still a lot of uncertainty about what will happen but this is entirely out of our control. I’m sure the footballing authorities will be working extremely hard during these testing times. When there is any update the club will keep supporters updated via the usual channels.

“The players and coaching staff remain away from McDiarmid Park and we feel this is the safest and best course of action. All players have their own individual training programmes which are being monitored daily by staff assuring that when football does finally return they are raring to go.

“We need to try and stay positive, follow government guidelines, and hopefully the situation will improve quickly. We’re all dealing with the uncertainty at the moment but hopefully everything can return to normal as soon as possible."