Where do the events of the last few days leave WOSFL  managers?

The short and arguably smart answer is following the guidelines and staying home like the rest of us, but football, particularly at lower league level, has never operated on a one-size-fits-all basis so no real surprise to hear Rob Roy boss Stewart Maxwell declaring himself far from content with his side’s lot in the wake of the SFA imposing a three-week suspension on all football beneath the Scottish Championship.

An articulate Maxi was speaking in response to SFA President Rod Petrie’s detailed statement of Monday morning which reasoned: “The Scottish FA is well aware of the efforts all clubs take to comply with the exacting protocols that were conditional on elite football being given an exemption to continue amid the pandemic.

“Nonetheless the continuation of football at all levels has weighed increasingly heavy on me as President, my colleagues on the board and the Joint Response Group as we have watched the new strain of the virus spread rapidly.

“While the national sport has been afforded the privilege of elite sporting exemption, the risk of mass transportation of untested, largely part-time players is something that cannot be sustained as the cases continue to rise and available hospital beds become increasingly scarce.

“After discussions with the SPFL, the Premiership and Championship will continue on the proviso that both adhere to the existing testing regime as the vast majority of teams in those divisions are full-time professional clubs and so the risk of transmission remains manageably low.

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“The cost implications to lower-division clubs was one factor but so too the realisation that many – with some notable exceptions – consist of part-time players who are either prevented from working due to the virus or have to work.
“In either case, the risk is currently too great amid the developing nationwide spread of the virus.”

Last night, Maxi firstly contacted all his Rabs players to inform them of training and games being cancelled until further notice before responding to TimesSport.

He said: ”It’s only my personal opinion however I have to say Mr Petrie and the SFA appear to have reacted to football in Scotland coming under the spotlight as a result of the furore caused by Celtic’s recent trip to Dubai.

“The Scottish Government’s subsequent involvement was always going to make waves and the upshot is lower league football, inclusive of the WOSFL, has been put forward as the sacrificial lambs to appease them.

“There’s no rhyme or reason for our clubs ending up as the fall guys while the big guns are given the green light (no pun intended) to keep playing.

“Going forward, we as a club can only continue to review our situation in line with the SFA’s promised review of football in context of the virus but for certain I cannot see us restarting competitive games three weeks from now.

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“I won’t go so far as to say the plug will be pulled on the entire season but neither can I rule it out.”

Vastly experienced gaffer Maxi’s viewpoint on the recently aired proposal to allow Celtic and Rangers Colts teams to enter Scottish League Two at the start of next season was similarly hard-hitting and to the point.

The 44 year old insisted: “This very same matter raised its head at the start of the season and had Junior clubs up in arms at the thought of the Old Firm 'skipping the queue' because of their financial clout.

“Most clubs openly welcomed their inclusion but only if they were to join the Pyramid at the very bottom tier and make the same steps up the ladder as we all have to do.

“Nothing but nothing has changed in that respect as far as I know and I just hope the powers-that-be do not try to accommodate them with a revamp of the game just 12 months down the line."