Former England and Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Paul Robinson has had his say on West Ham’s stance on ‘Project Restart’.
There has a been a lot of controversy around the Premier League strategy as officials aim to get football restarted as quickly and as safe as possible.
Watford captain Troy Deeney has confirmed that he will not return to training due to the safety element, and his teammates have followed him in his move.
A vote was passed from the 20 top-flight clubs which was in favour of seeing a return of small group training, but this has not convinced everyone involved.
Speaking to Football Insider, Robinson admitted that he would not be impressed if he was a player in the current circumstances.
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“The players have to have a say”, he said. “Unless the players’ safety can be 150% guaranteed there are going to be players that will not be happy to play. I would certainly not be happy to play given the risks.
“In dressing rooms, experienced, senior players will speak to others and form a nucleus of opinion. Senior players will feed that back to the manager and if players that do not want to play then the manager will have to be understanding of their personal scenarios.
“Until player safety is guaranteed a lot of players will be uncomfortable to return.”
Training resumed on Tuesday following the Premier League’s verdict and the club released an official statement which echoed the words of officials.
Skipper Mark Noble said earlier this month that football should only return once it is safe to do so, even if it means returning in October.
Robinson is right. Footballers need to be able to have their say, in the exact way that Deeney has.
The measures put in place have to be strict, to the point in which players can feel confident enough to turn up to training, without forcing players into doing it.
The club’s owners need to be doing everything they can to ensure that our players are looked after in the best possible way.
