In common with all SPFL clubs, Brechin City has been facing into the considerable challenge of returning to football.

With competitive football some 3 weeks away, a huge amount of work has been taking place through a variety of individuals and groups to position the Club to take our first tentative steps forward.

The Club has a number of friendlies arranged over the next few weeks but, under current guidelines, there is strictly no admittance for supporters to view these games. As a result, the Club will NOT be pro-actively publicising these games in advance, taking the view that we need to completely deter fans who might be looking to view the game on the off-chance of gaining access to the stadium.

The appeal from the Club is to please stay away from these games and avoid putting our return to playing football at risk. This stance feels totally alien and inhospitable to those in the Club, but reflects the current situation and is entirely necessary at present. No social media in-match updates will be published, but a brief match report will be available online shortly afterwards.

The Covid-compliance work undertaken by the Club started a few weeks ago with the introduction of a range of strict protocols to allow us to embrace the first phase – “Return to Training”. This included a multitude of strict rules including a revised policy on travel to and from training, player education and personal declarations, as well as defined restrictions around how training itself is conducted.

As we enter the “Return to Football” phase – ie, playing matches in the absence of spectators, some City fans may be surprised to learn the extent of some of the temporary changes made at Glebe Park. Given our limited infrastructure, this has been particularly challenging – but substantial changes have had to be put in place to allow matches to take place at all. Although by no means an exhaustive list, this includes:

• The stadium being re-defined into a series of red zones and amber zones, with very strict access policies and directional movement guidance applied in each

• Home players will use both the home and away dressing rooms in the Centre Stand

• Visiting teams have been allocated the City Club as their changing room and will enter the pitch from behind the goal

• Match Officials have been allocated the Boardroom as their changing room

By sharing this insight, the Club hopes that this demonstrates the severity of the challenge and how seriously this is being taken – and that it serves to re-enforce the plea to fans to stay away from the stadium during these friendlies.

We do, of course, long for the day that we welcome fans back to Glebe Park!