"If something happened I'd never forgive myself!" Boston Town boss Gary Edgley adamant Poachers made right decision to postpone fixtures

Boston Town look unlikely to play again until the new year after making the decision to put their league campaign on hold - with manager Gary Edgley convinced the Poachers have made the correct decision.

The United Counties League offered teams in their divisions the opportunity to decide whether to return to action or not following lockdown.

With clubs from three of the league’s five member counties placed in tier three, hosting matches would have financial implications due to the ban on fans and no matchday revenue.

But manager Edgley says the decision goes well beyond that.

“You’ve got Christmas right around the corner. A couple of our players play and catch Corona and pass it on to the family then they’re stuck with Covid over Christmas,” he explained.

“But not just that. From my own personal point of view, if I asked my players to play and one got it for some reason and they passed it on to an elderly family member or a pregnant girlfriend - like we’ve got with a few players - and something happened to them then I’d never forgive myself.

“You could say the players at risk don’t play but everyone else does, why would we do that? We’re a team.

“You look at the results over the weekend, someone got hammered 9-1 (Desborough at Quorn). What’s the point?

“We’ve got to travel on our own. We’ve got a few lads that don’t drive.

“Again, we’d have to play with a weakened team. We’re meant to be doing this for enjoyment, there’s no enjoyment in this right now.”

The Poachers are currently scheduled to travel to Harborough Town on December 19 and to face Sleaford on Boxing Day, but Edgley says the club will be unwilling to fulfil those fixtures.

The earliest return date appears to be January 2’s trip to Desborough.

“I think common sense will prevail,” Edgley said.

“At the moment I think our earliest possible game is January 2, but things will be reviewed and nothing’s guaranteed yet.

“For me, I think it’s wrong that leagues are making clubs make decisions. They should be making the decisions, not us, with common sense in mind.

“Also Boston’s the second-highest place in the UK for Covid. If teams want to come here and play they must be mad. It’s crazy.

Edgley confirmed the decision to postpone fixtures was a group one, following consultation with management staff, boardroom and players.

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