East of Scotland season looks to be over says Dundonald Bluebell's general manager

Dundonald Bluebell in action earlier this season (Pic George Wallace)

League One and Two clubs and the Women’s Premier League 1 were given the green light to return last week after the season for all clubs in Scotland beneath the Championship was suspended in January due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

But all other leagues, including the EOS, are still in the dark whether they will be allowed to resume play or not.

However, Halliday believes that the cost of playing will be too much for the lower league sides.

“To allow football to continue the SFA are insisting on PCR testing and that is not financially viable for clubs at our level.

“For me, if that is the case, and what we're hearing is that the Scottish Government (SG) are insisting on it to the SFA until the season is finished, then I think we have to accept that, under those circumstances, our season is finished.

“The frustration has been the waiting to see - are we going to play, are we not going to play? - so I think the leagues, the SFA and the SG are going to have to make a decision sooner rather than later.

“Speaking to people that I know around other EoS clubs we're all of the view that we're not going to play. There has to be an acceptance of that at some point.

“We all understand that we're still in the middle of a pandemic.”

Halliday suggests that the lower leagues would be better off now turning their attention to next season, and advocates an early start.

"It's unfortunate because we are desperate to get back playing but if we do that, then we may have the opportunity to start the new season earlier.

“I think we need to start looking forward now and get a date set in place.

“Maybe we can get a few weeks in playing over the summer months.

"There also the danger that people lose interest and we lose them from the game because there is this lull at the moment.

“Playing all those games without supporters in the ground has been testing, so if we can get some light at the end of the tunnel, know that we're going to get the fans back, that's what we should be looking forward to.”