We need to look at the bigger picture and not just football, says Halkirk United manager Ewan McElroy
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Halkirk United manager Ewan McElroy has spoken of the "bigger picture" beyond football and warned that the wellbeing of communities must be taken into account at a time of growing Covid-19 concerns.
The Anglers' scheduled trip to face North Caledonian League leaders Loch Ness last Saturday was postponed for Covid-related reasons but McElroy says there are bigger issues at stake than just sport.
"Even without the issues within the squad, it’s pretty clear that cases are rising at an exponential rate and this close to Christmas I don’t think travelling out of the county with a bus load of boys would be either the safe or sensible thing to do," he said.
"It is not just the squad's welfare and wellbeing we need to consider but also the community itself. I don’t think anyone wants to be responsible for folk having to isolate over Christmas and sometimes we need to think about the bigger picture and not just football."
A highly satisfactory first half of the season for Halkirk has seen them reach a final and mount a strong challenge in the league.
"I have been really pleased with the squad's improvement so far but I know we still have a way to go," McElroy said. "As a group they have worked really well and we are showing we are capable of competing against the best teams in the league – we just need to start showing it on a more consistent basis.
"It’s a hugely competitive league and the standard is only improving. We have a really challenging run of games after Christmas but ones we are all looking forward to."
The match between Nairn County "A" and Invergordon was also called off because of Covid issues.
