STEVE CLARKE has warned his Scotland players that Covid-19 is still a real threat ahead of the European Championships as he allowed them to return home for a short break with their families.
The national team manager says that John Fleck testing positive for Coronavirus while at the Scotland training camp in Spain should serve as a reminder of how fragile the situation still is.
There has also been huge disruption to Spain's preparations for the championships after their whole squad was placed into isolation following a positive test for Sergio Busquets, forcing them to pull out of their final warm-up match against Lithuania, which was scheduled for tonight..
Subsequently, Clarke doesn’t expect to see any of his players out on the town before the squad reconvene in Middlesbrough for the tournament proper.
“It’s a bit of respite for the players now,” said Clarke.
“I think it’s important for a couple of days to let them go home and relax. It’s just a break they need because it has been an intense period.
“With the covid situation it’s better to let them go to their families rather than try to get the families to come to the team hotel or whatever
“I think it’s a good idea and we will reconvene on Wednesday night at our hotel at Rockcliffe and take it from there.
“It’s safe for them to go home and spend time with their families. We don’t expect to see any of them going out and about.
“We had six out of the Netherlands game last week so they know how close covid still is.
“Since the start when we brought football back we have preserved the security around the covid bubble.
“What happened last week as just an early reminder that the covid was there.
“It’s not going to go away this year, I don’t think it will go away next year either.
“We have to learn to live with it.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel