Methil men are sticking together during break

The squabbling over title wins, promotions and relegations has been put at a peep as the magnitude of the spread has been laid bare over the past couple of days.

At East Fife FC club skipper Kevin Smith says the players have been coming together to support each other during a worrying time.

Some have taken a hit from the outbreak, ‘keeper Jordan Hart revealing in a Sunday newspaper that he has already lost his job.

“Jordan was right to point out that there are bigger things than football and East Fife at the moment,” said Smith.

“It puts it all into perspective.

“All the players are in a group chat, there are around 20 of us in it.

“A couple of the lads have lost their jobs and that’s really tough so it’s important we all stick together.”

Training as a group won’t happen for the foreseeable future with players now also having no access to gyms.

There is still hope this season will resume at some point in the next couple of months, so Smith says the players are doing what they can to stay sharp.

“Chris Higgins, Tony McMinn and the gaffer have given us programmes,” said the Fife skipper.

“I’ve hired a treadmill which I’m hoping will keep me going for a while.

“But it’s difficult to know how much to push yourself.

“I just hope they give us time to prepare before we start playing again.

“I’m in regular communication with the gaffer, the chairman and Michelle at the PFA and we’ve been told we can’t train in big groups.

“I know some teams are discussing going back soon but the instructions from the Government are to not go back at all.”

The Scottish FA has already announced there will be no competitive football until the start of May at the earliest.

That looks optimistic at best, but Smith remains hopeful this season can be played out if it’s safe to do so.

“It would be good to finish it because this is one of the best squads we’ve had with a good young manager,” he added.

“But we’re just going to have to wait and see.”