Derry City back League of Ireland behind closed doors plan

Earlier this week the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) announced plans to prepare for a resumption of the 2020 season.

The document entitled “Return to Football”, Behind Closed Doors was issued on Tuesday by the FAI following consultation with all clubs and the Players Association and those guidelines are now in place to help clubs get prepared for the return of the league when it is declared safe to do so by the various government authorities.

Barrett was also quick to stress that Declan Devine’s side would only return to action at the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium, if it was safe for everyone involved with the club and they got the thumbs up from Stormont.

“Yes, 100 per cent we are for trying to get back playing football, not just for the club, but for the whole city, as we try to get some sort of normality back,” he insisted.

“Everybody is keen to try to get back playing football but only if it is safe for the players to do so and safe for all the management and backroom staff, which we feel can be achievable based on what the FAI’s recommendations are.

“We not only have the FAI guidelines to contend with but then we have both governments strategies, but hopefully if the two of them fall into line then with a bit of luck we’ll have some sort of football going forward.

“We have discussed the FAI guidelines with the local council and there doesn’t seem to be any show stoppers yet. Yes it’s quite complex but when you break it all down it’s achievable.”

Tomorrow, Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is expected to announce details on reopening Ireland to “a new normal” and with UEFA having further discussions with all associations on Friday morning, it’s believed that the FAI will host a video conference call with all clubs tomorrow afternoon and Barrett expects the situation to change again.

“Everyone is waiting for what the government says and if they give the go-ahead to start training again then we can look at it, but there’s all sorts of issues that need to be addressed,” he explained.

“For example multiple training sessions, we have guys living in multiple accommodations, so they can train together because they are living together, so that’s just one issue, but if the governments give the go ahead for some sort of training facilities or whatever, we’ll be ready to go.

“To be honest we are actually ready to go, because the boys are training away at present and sending their GPS into the coaches and they are doing whatever they can do. Obviously they are missing team training work on pitches, but that will come eventually and if it comes in a week or two then great, if it’s a month or two then so be it, but we are just prepared to go now and all the boys are keen for it to happen as soon as we possibly can, in the event and I can’t stress this enough, if it is safe to do so.

“Whether we play a half season or a quarter season, we want to play football and we want to get some normality back as much as we can. Now if the powers that be decide otherwise then so be it, as it’s out of our hands, but we are doing everything that we can to make sure that we are ready if and when we get the green light.

“Look, the decision is out of our hands at the minute,” he added. “But all we are saying is that we’ll do everything in our power if we can to get things up and running, but again I have to stress that we have to make sure the safety of our players, staff and everybody involved and if that is deemed acceptable by the governing bodies then we are more than willing and are very, very keen to get back to playing football and try to bring back some normality, as I said before not just for the football club but for the city as a whole.

“It would be great to get a bit of interest going again whether it be through live streaming or listening to matches on the radio or whatever, but that’s what we are trying to achieve, it’s going to be a big ask based on what we are hearing from different parties at the moment but hopefully we can achieve it.

“As I said we are going to do everything that we can to make it achievable if it happens, which would be great, but it’s out of our control at the minute.”

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