Clyde put boss Danny Lennon and players on furlough

As the financial impact of the coronavirus continues to bite Clyde, in common with many other clubs and businesses, are taking advantage of the Government scheme protecting 80 per cent of the wages of staff who are laid off.

Club vice-chairman John Taylor said: “We’re all small businesses and need to take advantage of the opportunity through the job protection scheme to pay our players and staff.

“The detail has taken some time to get through and that’s not a criticism of the government because they had to make a big statement and then work away at the fine detail, and with the number of anomalies thrown up it has been a minefield.

“We really needed to be as clear as we could be but it’s like trying to hit a moving target.”

Clyde recently also appealed for fans to help where they can with donations to help tide the club over.

But they are stopping short of launching a formal, targeted fundraising campaign, aware that health remains people’s primary concern and that fans and sponsors have their own issues, financial and otherwise, to deal with.

Mr Taylor said: “We can’t delude ourselves into thinking that football’s working in a vacuum and everyone else is in the same position as they were to support and fund and donate even two weeks ago.

“We’re not going to plead that ‘we need this’ and ‘we need that’ and ask people to rally round because they’ve all got their own issues and limitations.”

The furlough scheme is due to run until June 30 which, ironically, is when most players on one-year contracts will see their deals expire, although plans were revealed this week for a worldwide agreement to extend contracts for a short period.

The vice-chairman added: “This is the time we’d be planning for next season, but we’ve just had to step back a wee bit.”