Scottish Government advice on full-contact training in Scottish football will remain the same this week despite the country moving into phase two of lifting lockdown restrictions, The Scottish Sun reports.
The paper states that talks have been ongoing over the weekend between politicians and the Scottish football Joint Response Group as there had been an expectation that teams would be able to move away from socially distanced training and work towards peak fitness starting tomorrow.
However, players must continue to train at a safe distance away from the their teammates.
It’s news that has reportedly ‘stunned’ some top-flight clubs that had reduced their reliance on the government furlough scheme in anticipation.
The Scottish Sun says there is now at least hope that a date for full training can be announced this week, though there are no promises in place.
The Scottish FA have also submitted applications for closed-door training and friendly matches to go ahead, which will be necessary if players are to be in prime condition.
Celtic have led the way in Scottish football’s return, putting testing in place early and allowing Neil Lennon’s squad to get back to work as soon as the outright training ban was lifted in early June.
Across the border in England, competitive matches are taking place so hopefully it’s not too long before the Bhoys can take part in proper sessions ahead of the new season starting in August.
With Celtic on the brink of appointing a new coach and Lennon knowing there’ll be a tough gauntlet of European qualifying matches before long, they’ll be desperate to get stuck into the hardest pre-season work.
As always though, safety comes first.
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