Gillingham boss Steve Evans has added his views to the ongoing Coronavirus crisis and the “postponement” of all professional football at least until the beginning of April.
Speaking on Friday morning ahead of the official cancellation of League football, the Gills boss was candid in his views with the attending media. He said, “The Premier League were meeting, and I guess that as part of that meeting there will be an audience with the EFL and interaction between both Leagues. My personal view is that if the Premier League is off, we’ll be off as the EFL.”
“Taking away my views being for Gillingham Football Club, my personal view is that football should be off for a week or two. We have our country stretched, we have our NHS at a real pivotal point, and I think that at the end of the day, we’re all human beings. Especially out elders, the minute that we’re ever putting into question their health, there should be only one decision and it should be quite forceful and strong.
“We must trust the board of the EFL who I do as I know several of them. We have to trust those at the Premier League although they operate at an elite level and we have to ultimately trust the Football Association that they will look after the welfare of every participant and the family of every participant – which is a key point for me – we are preparing to play against Fleetwood; there was no let up in our training, everyone wants to play; I want to be here, but we’ll say what the governing bodies say.
“Our medical team are all over it – you can probably smell the gel on my hands. We’ve all got our own little hand gel bottles, but we have to look at this over a little window of time. We’re not talking about postponing the season or not on an ongoing basis – I think that theres no doubt when you see Italy on lockdown – I don’t think the French are far behind, we’ve seen what the Americans have said. These geniuses of medicine and science cant all be wrong – the epidemic is here and it’s here now – but we have to take all precautions to make sure that not one of us – and it could be me – becomes a carrier innocently and pass it to someone who sadly loses their life… just think of the pain that death brings to all of us – it’s the toughest pain in the world, so let’s try and prevent that.
“I’m not trying to dramatize things – I will be here, and I will lead my troops against Fleetwood if the governing bodies decide that medically on their advice, we “go to war” so to speak on a football field. If not, we’ll see Fleetwood in a few weeks’ time.”
He was then asked about the possibility of carrying on – but with no spectator’s present. Evans said, “It’ll be a loss to us – I don’t get involved in the revenue streams or things like that. That’s down to the Chairman and Chief Executive but it’s a loss to us as our home support is so passionate – they make a massive impact and positive impact for us. Will it help Fleetwood? Yes, I would suggest that it would Fleetwood a moral advantage. We’re lucky that we’ve got a home support that is really with us and we’re in it together. There’s probably one or two of the bigger clubs in our League at the minute who won’t mind having no home support in as they’ve been too negative about them at the moment. But we’re not on that front – we’re on a more positive front than that at the moment – if we go without spectators, it’ll be “new”; it will be “original” – these are unprecedented times.”
“It’s a wider issue than just football – of course it is! Its unprecedented in my lifetime – and I’m closer to sixty than fifty – we must protect everyone downstairs and not just at the Football Club. My wife’s workplace is on lockdown and she’s working from home,” Evans added, smiling, “and believe me she is too! I heard the Prime Ministers words very carefully the other night that a lot of us are going to lose people before their time – why should we lose anyone? We shouldn’t – it’s terrible!”
Evans finished with a personal admission, “I’m worried – I’ve got an eighty-three-year-old mother fighting cancer and I’m not alone and we all know that there are many other people in Gillingham with similar worries. Why should we compromise them at any stage? We shouldn’t so we have to respect and must trust the people above us that they make the correct decision. The Prime Minister cannot say we’re going to lose some loved ones so let’s carry on! C’mon Boris!”