Thurso and Halkirk United managers agree league should have been delayed
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Thurso and Halkirk United are gearing up for the first Caithness derby of the North Caledonian League campaign – although the respective managers admit they would prefer not to be playing at all.
The season began last weekend against a backdrop of continuing concerns over the spread of Covid-19 and with restrictions in place such as the lack of access to indoor changing facilities. A young Thurso side lost 3-0 at home to Golspie Sutherland in their Division One opener, while Halkirk United were 2-1 winners at Bonar Bridge in a North Caledonian Cup tie.
Next up is the derby, scheduled for the Dammies on Saturday – although there is a chance it could be moved to Morrison Park. Thurso boss Stevie Reid and his Halkirk United counterpart Ewan McElroy expect a tight contest but are in agreement that the North Caledonian League should have followed the Highland League and delayed the start of the campaign.
McElroy said: "To be completely honest I don’t think we should have started last week, and at the very least I think we should have followed the Highland League's example and postponed until November.
It’s not just the players' welfare in jeopardy but also the villages, towns and family homes that all the North Caley players are returning to.
"Our secretary, in agreement with our chairman, had asked for the season to be pushed back but I think that continues to fall on deaf ears at the minute.
"My personal opinion would be no football until January. That way we would hopefully see a significant decrease in Covid numbers and have more time to prepare properly.
"We only have a short amount of games and could easily complete the season by the end of March if we did. At the end of the day it’s not just the players' welfare in jeopardy but also the villages, towns and family homes that all the North Caley players are returning to that are at added risk during this pandemic.
"The lack of showers and no changing rooms situation is another issue altogether. We were lucky that Saturday was a reasonably mild day and we had a 49-seater bus, but once we get into the colder and wetter months this will only become a more significant problem."
He added: "We are quite lucky that we have two stands the boys can use to get changed, and these are then deep-cleaned. Changing outside is far from ideal. As much as I love football, and I am enjoying being part of the league, I just don’t think we should be playing in this current climate."
Reid takes a similar view and made his feelings known ahead of the Golspie clash, arguing that it was "premature" to start the season and highlighting concerns among his own group of players.
“I don't agree with it," he reiterated this week. "I think it should have been delayed."
As for the game itself, Caithness derbies have tended to be close affairs and both managers expect this to continue.
"I don’t think there will be much in it," McElroy said. "Despite there being a large gap between us and second-placed Thurso last season, all our games have been close and I can't see this one being any different.
"Thurso are probably still slightly ahead in terms of experience and consistency at this level but we have trained well and I am certain everyone will be up for Saturday's game.
"I have been really pleased with the effort from the boys. This is the first time we have upped training to twice a week and everyone has embraced it – you can see the boys are getting fitter and sharper each week."
Reid felt there were many positives to take out of the Golspie match despite the three-goal defeat, and he will again be putting his faith in his youngsters against the Anglers.
“They are always close games so we've just got to prepare as best we can," he said.
Last weekend Thurso were able to play at the Dammies for the first time in over a year, following improvements after the pitch was affected by drainage problems. However, after this week's wet weather, there is a question mark over whether the ground will be playable.
Reid said: “The weather is not the best and we've enquired about the possibility of reversing the fixture, just to be on the safe side. That could happen yet.”
