Covid scare is a wake up call, says Brackley boss Wilkin

Brackley Town have had to put their pre-season on hold

Kevin Wilkin admits the Covid-19 scare in his Brackley Town squad has served as a ‘wake up call’ for the club.

The Saints confirmed a case of the virus within their ranks earlier this week, which resulted in the Newlands Shield game at Kettering Town and next Tuesday’s home friendly with Northampton Town being called off.

The squad are having to isolate until early next week before resuming their preparations for the big kick-off in the National League North on August 14.

And while Wilkin admits the situation is far from ideal, he believes it has presented an opportunity for the club to look at how they deal with things going forward.

“We have got until next Tuesday to isolate and keep ourselves to ourselves,” the Saints boss said.

“It is frustrating but I am glad we had the foresight to start a bit earlier and hopefully it won’t put too much of a dent in our preparations.

“It has given us a chance to reflect and see how to carry out our procedures moving forward.

“If anything, it has potentially come at the right time. You don’t want to miss crucial build-up games but you’d rather miss them than league matches.

“It’s a bit of a wake up call for everybody. We have had discussions at the club about what we need to do to move forward to try to ensure this situation doesn’t happen again.”

Wilkin and his coaching team will continue to put on sessions for the players online over the next few days.

And the Brackley boss is hopeful they will still have enough games left to ensure they are ready for the opening game at Chorley.

“The players have been given programmes and we are putting sessions on over Zoom,” he added.

“It’s a matter of trying to keep us ticking over and we just hope that we will have enough games to get ourselves in the best shape for August 14.

“I am optimistic we will be up to speed and that will remain the aim, to make sure we are ready for that first game of the season.”