F&W sitting tight but chairman admits outlook is bleak

WHILE Neil Jardine refused to be drawn on whether he considered the Fermanagh and Western football season a complete write-off, the chairman admitted that the longer the current lockdown and restrictions remain in place increases the likelihood of that being the case.

The chairman said he detected a resignation amongst some clubs that that may be an inevitable outcome however he said at this moment time the governing body was keeping its options open to see what decisions government takes in the coming days..

At the end of November the Fermanagh and Western management committee took the somewhat surprising decision to declare their league season null and void given the escalating Covid -19 crisis and the likelihood of further restrictions being imposed.

In place of that the govening body said it would organise a one-off competition to run alongside the Mulhern and Reihill Cup, while allowing space for local clubs to also compete in the IFA’s Irish Junior Cup.

That decision was met by considerable criticism from some quarters but some two months on it’s looking more and more like that has proved the right call. In fact, given that now more than ever the country is gripped by the coronavirus pandemic, it seems more than a little ambitious to be thinking that another ball will be kicked this season.

While Jardine refused to call it, he did admit that the prospects were looking particularly bleak.

“Right now it’s a matter of sitting tight to see what developments come from the hill,” he said.

“The last thing we want to be doing is giving people false dawns. Anyone you’re tallking to isn’t expecting lockdown to be lifted until March at least.”

FULL STORY IN TODAY’S ULSTER HERALD