Peterhead’s Derek Lyle says he doesn’t see the difference the Championship and Leagues One and Two as Scotland’s third and fourth tiers remain in cold storage.
Although the Premiership and Championship have continued, football below that level in Scotland remains suspended until March 1 at the earliest.
Clubs in League One and Two had offered to conduct Covid-19 tests on personnel, like their counterparts in the top two tiers, in a bid to return to action, but it still wasn’t enough.
Blue Toon striker Lyle finds it difficult to understand why there is a disparity between the Championship and Leagues One and Two.
Across all three divisions there is a mix of full-time and part-time clubs.
Lyle, 39, said: “First of all, there is an awful lot going on in the world and I feel for people.
“But I don’t see how what’s going on has affected the lower leagues. There wasn’t a big upturn in the virus going through lower league clubs (when lower league football was stopped on January 11).
“I don’t see the difference between the likes of us and the part-time clubs in the Championship like Alloa and Arbroath.
“The lower leagues were willing to test going forward, so I don’t see the difference between us, Alloa and Arbroath, because we’re all part-time.
“In that sense it’s disappointing, but on the wider scale I understand that a lot of people are still catching the virus and you want to protect the vulnerable people.
“But there was nothing to suggest it was going around lower league clubs and being spread.
“But we’ve been stopped and the Championship and Premiership has kept going. I don’t see the difference between Arbroath, Alloa and Peterhead, Clyde and the other League One and Two sides.
“It’s disappointing we can’t get going again. The training and playing is an escape for a lot of people and good for people’s mental health and there’s a lot of people in football who will suffer.”
The delay on lower league football returning means finishing the 27-game League One and Two seasons by the end of May appears increasingly difficult.
Even if the campaigns were cut to 18 fixtures, it could still prove challenging, with no resumption date set yet.
Former Queen of the South, Partick Thistle, Hamilton, Morton and Dundee player Lyle added: “With what happened and putting it back further, I can’t see us finishing the season now with the number of games that are left.
“I think it would be Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday and it still wouldn’t be enough.
“Even then a game could be postponed for any reason and that would cause more problems.
“I can’t see it being finished and personally I think they are just prolonging it before cancelling it.
“If they’re going to cancel it then I think they should just come out and say rather than stringing people along.
“It’s currently ‘we’ll look at it here, we’ll look at it there.’ But it’s reached the stage where you can’t fit the games in.
“As players we can see it coming, so I don’t why they don’t just come out and say that.”
Peterhead’s Jim McInally wants an explanation after shutdown extension
