PARTICK THISTLE manager Ian McCall concedes that he cannot see a way to resolve the SPFL season as Scottish football faces unprecedented uncertainty.
The Jags are currently bottom of the Championship standings with nine games left to play, trailing ninth-placed Queen of the South by two points.
The Thistle boss believes that fulfilling the remaining fixtures is the fairest way to conclude the current campaign but admitted that he has his doubts over whether this is even possible.
"Everyone agrees that the best way is to finish the season and play all the games, no doubt about it," he said. "But I can’t see how that can happen. I just cant see it happening. So someone needs to make a decision on how we move forward.
"But it’s incredibly tough decisions that people will have and it will be very hard for people not to be accused of self-interest. I don’t envy them. I have my feeling on what should happen. I genuinely don’t think any team should be worse off. I think finishing the league is the best solution but for the life of me I don’t see how that can happen.
"We’ve got nine players out-of-contract, we’ve got four loans. We’ve got players coming in on pre-contracts. You can’t finish the league with a different team. But it’s going to be a tough decision.
“The powers at be have a hard job in football and government. No matter what they decide it won’t get universal approval. This country has come through wars and got on our feet again. When is the question.”
Despite spending his entire working life in the game, McCall says that he has never experienced anything like the current situation as the coronavirus crisis has led to widespread postponements in the sporting calendar.
It is a unique set of circumstances for the 55-year-old, but he readily admits that football has to take a back seat whilst people's health is at stake.
“This has been challenging and every manager will say that," he said. "The most difficult part of my week was going to Dumfries to see my 85-year-old mother and having to sit three metres apart from her. That puts into perspective the challenges of keeping your players ticking over.
"We are monitoring their fitness and if they aren’t doing their work I give them a call. We have a few boys self isolating now as well, so it is tough, but there are far bigger challenges in normal life.
“Some players get a reputation of being daft, but this is an extreme circumstance and they will have their own issues with their families. Be it young children, elderly relatives and so on. They realise the enormity of the situation. We have to get through it the best we can. I have spoken to some players and I will keep doing that. I am phoning supporters as well to have a chat with them and see how they are. You can’t get away from it, it is hard for everyone but it is everyone – not just football.”
The Maryhill side rebranded as Partick Thistle Family Club on Thursday and rolled out a new initiative that would see players and staff members phone in on elderly supporters who are self-isolating in a bid to raise their spirits. McCall is more than happy to play his part and stressed the role that football can play as communities rally together.
“Football can be huge in these circumstances, as can sport in general," he said. "We can play a role in it and we will. People underestimate how important sport is – and in this country, football. We have done a lot of stuff to help the fans.
"‘I phoned a supporter on Thursday and his daughter told me that he was thrilled at the call. We just chatted football. I phoned a guy today on his 73rd birthday and I’ve done a few things on my own street with the older ones. I’m not making myself out...everyone is doing it. But if you’re 73 and you’ve supported Thistle all your life and a player or a manager phones to wish you a happy birthday, then I think that’s a pretty cool thing.
"Little things like that will help him. Some clubs are worried about the financial future, but I feel in these situations, if you have a group of fans who boo and shout abuse, they are the ones who gather round when there is trouble. They are on the phones wanting to help and rally around. I think it is an irony that the unhappy ones are the ones wanting to help and it is fantastic."
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