Leigh Pomlett: Walsall coping better than most

In a wide-ranging Q&A released by the club, Pomlett spoke about many of the issues affecting Walsall at the moment.

When asked at what point he will become worried about the future of the club, the chairman said it depends on the support from governing bodies and how long lockdown lasts.

“Much will depend on the actions we take as a club and the possible relaxation of the lockdown rules,” he said. “It also depends on the support we get from the EFL, the government, banks, supporters and the Premier League. At the moment, we are in reasonable shape and much better than a lot of clubs but we need to be very vigilant over the coming weeks to protect our club. Like anyone though, these are worrying times for all of us.”

Meanwhile, reports have suggested that League One and League Two could be regionalised to help finish the season – while much has been made of players who are out of contract on June 30.

Pomlett has said that the club are already exploring extending deals with players, while insisting that regionalisation is not something that has been discussed.

“We will await guidance from the relevant bodies, EFL, FA, FIFA, on this issue,” he added. “As it stands, legally the contracts will terminate, but as a club we may choose to exercise our options on certain players. This is something I am already in dialogue with Darrell about.

“This (regionalisation) hasn’t been discussed in any League Two meeting that we have had. Stefan (Gamble), Dan (Mole) and I meet formally with representatives of the EFL weekly – via conference call – for updates and to discuss matters in hand. We also meet with a League Two ownership group in a less formal manner weekly too. At no point has a regionalisation been on the agenda.”

The EFL’s position on finishing the season has not changed, as they insist on doing so when it is safe. Walsall and Pomlett are very much in the same boat, believing it is needed to ‘protect the integrity’ of football.

“The club would support completing the end of the season to protect the integrity of the competition and to fulfil our contractual obligations providing it is safe to do so,” he said. “We would hope to do that in front of a live crowd but the reality is this may have to be behind closed doors.

“In that event, games, both home and away, would be live streamed through iFollow. If that is the case, we intend to provide season ticket holders with access free of charge, whilst a match day pass could be obtained by non-season ticket holders. As it stands, various models that would allow us to have a live crowd in the stadium are being investigated which could comply with social distancing but allow matches to go ahead.”.”