Caley Thistle goalkeeper Mark Ridgers sees no issue with Championship Covid-19 protocols, after clubs were written to by the SPFL to ensure compliance.
Criticism from Celtic manager Neil Lennon, followed up by remarks from his Aberdeen counterpart Derek McInnes, led to all clubs in the top two divisions being asked by the SPFL how they were complying with the guidelines set out.
For Ridgers, there is no issue to speak of. He is complimentary of the measures put in place, not just by his own club but by those around the second tier which has been given dispensation to continue.
“Every stadium I’ve been to so far, I’ve had absolutely no issues with it,” said Ridgers, now in his fourth season with Inverness.
“I speak to some of the boys I know who I’ve played against and they say the same about Inverness. I think one of the things people moan at is it’s a little bit colder than it would be in a normal dressing room, because you’re in a stand.
“You get used to it, the way it is now. When it does stop, which fingers crossed is really soon or sometime this year, and gets back to some form of normality for next season, it’s going to be a bit strange.
“I think everyone in the Championship, from what I’ve seen personally, has done really well and put in place what needs to be put in place for the league to continue.
❌ Match postponed ❌
Today’s match against @AlloaAthleticFC has been postponed.
This is due to one small area of the pitch being frozen.
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (@ICTFC) January 23, 2021
“When you see League One and League Two being cancelled, I didn’t understand it because it’s not fair on them to stop playing when we’ve got some part-time teams in our league.
“The biggest issue for clubs lower down is obviously the financial side of things. You don’t want any of these clubs to go into administration or fold because of this situation.
“From Inverness’ point of view, from what I’ve seen, we’re doing the right things to allow the club to continue and for us to play next season and the season after. That’s all we can do as a football club at the moment.”
Championship clubs were asked the week previous by Scottish FA chief executive Ian Maxwell whether they wanted to keep playing.
It came on the back of comments made by Caley Jags boss John Robertson, questioning the reasons behind the Championship continuing, which was then misinterpreted by the governing bodies as Inverness wanting the game stopped.
“It’s part of being a footballer – you do what the manager and the club tell you if you want to be successful,” added Ridgers. “Everyone has their eye on what’s going on outside and everyone will have a different opinion about what’s going on; people have got different personal agendas, such as family members or if they feel they’re going to be risk.
“Inverness have always said if we felt unsafe or at risk, they’re more than happy for us not to do the normal things we’ve been doing. But all the things they’ve put into place at the stadium and the training ground have been brilliant.
“So far, we’ve had the two rounds of tests and every player and staff member has been negative. Hopefully we continue to do that and look forward to playing a game of football finally.”
Caley Thistle have not played since December 29 – a 1-1 draw with Dunfermline – after another postponement on Saturday. Their fixture against Alloa Athletic was called off after the Caledonian Stadium failed a morning inspection due to a frozen pitch.
The Highland capital side have also lost games against Morton, Queen of the South and Arbroath due to the weather, all of which have been rearranged, and Raith Rovers who suffered a Covid-19 outbreak.
Ridgers said: “The frustrating side of it is it’s not something we’ve done or other people have done. It’s the way the weather has been. Four have been frozen pitches and the Raith Rovers one was because of Covid, which is what’s happening in the world.
“We’ve not played for so long – when you see other teams playing, it’s going to make it difficult for us now to catch up to teams. It looks like it’s going to be Saturday-midweek now until the end of the season.
“The frustrating part is you’re seeing teams around you playing. It becomes difficult when you’re chasing and needing to pick up points. We know these games become more important than maybe what they were because if we win them, it gives us a great opportunity to get right back in the mix for the play-offs.”
Brad Mckay glad to have played part in Inverness keeper Mark Ridgers’ 50 clean sheets
