COLUMN | Dundalk FC contacting their supporters was 'a terrific gesture' and strengthens the bond

It’s been a dreadful week as far as the coronavirus is concerned, with the figures in Ireland getting worse and countries such as the United States, Italy and Spain being left in total chaos.

In Italy almost a thousand people died due to the Covid-19 pandemic over a 24-hour period at the weekend.

Ireland, too, has been placed in virtual lockdown in a move from the government which will hopefully see the spread of the virus slow. Nobody can complain about this and the hope is that people will support the authorities.

Local newspapers have been hit very badly by declining advertising revenue as businesses have all but completely shutdown. Many regional titles have been left with a virtual skeleton staff to get their editions out. It’s very important that the local population support the papers at this crisis time.

Yet amid all the gloom there was a lot of positivity last week. I thought Dundalk contacting all of their season ticket holders to see if they were all okay was a terrific gesture. It got a great response from the fans with many expressing their gratitude on social media. The move strengthened even further the bonds between the club and its supporters.

The club’s announcement that despite the collapse in the soccer programme, they will continue to keep all of their playing and non-playing staff on the payroll was great news as other clubs have had to do the opposite.

Shelbourne, Shamrock Rovers and Bohemians have done likewise, all very positive indicators that the league is in better health than some may think.

Sligo Rovers, Finn Harps and Drogheda United have, however, all had to reduce their wage bill, with players and management losing out.

I heard Dundalk manager Vinny Perth giving an interview to RTÉ on Friday evening. Vinny said that at this time of the season the club would be in the middle of their campaign. He showed his dedication to the job when he said he could be up until two or three in the morning analysing his next opposition or going back over the previous week’s game. We all forget that the job of a modern day League of Ireland manager is seven days a week and can also have them working into the small hours of every morning.

It was interesting to hear of the new training techniques fitted into the modern game and the analysis that is done on each player.

Vinny emphasised the importance of European football and it was clear from what he said how vital it was in his plans. Of course, hopefully the qualifiers will go ahead at their normal dates this summer. But these dates are totally dependent on when the current virus crisis will be lifted.

Usually League of Ireland clubs would have half of their season completed by the start of the European games. That will not now be the case and how it will affect LOI clubs only time will tell.

Meanwhile the Dundalk boss continues his hard work as manager, although I did get the impression that Vinny was getting some much needed gardening done at home having at least some spare time on his hands.

Further afield, it was nice to see high-profile stars like Ronaldo, Messi and Pep Guardiola donating a million euro for the fight against the virus, again showing how much good there is in the game.

Folks, please stay safe out there and try to remain as positive as possible. It’s a scary time for us all, but we will get through it. And I have no doubt that in no time we will all be back in Oriel cheering on our beloved heroes in the black and white.