AFC Telford players' commitment delights boss Gavin Cowan
Gavin COWAN has revealed the AFC Telford United players are using their own time to begin training after the season start date was delayed.
As the Football League returns in September, non-league will now get underway until from October 3.
That delay means a delayed start to pre-season, but Cowan has revealed the players have chosen to train without pay to ensure they are ready.
“We’re going to come in once per week, that was the players’ decision,” he said.
“We don’t pay players out of season because we’re part-time and they’ve got to fill their cars with petrol. I gave them the option of coming in once per week which they want to do, which is great.
“That’ll keep us ticking over. We’re lucky to have Aaron Lambley who has put plans together for a third time so players can be off-site and keep ticking over. We’re really fortunate with that and the guys over at Love2Stay, with the guys making themselves available. There’s a lot of costs incurred bringing the lads in, Lilleshall is phenomenal but we have to pay for the privilege.
“I still think as well if they can keep on top of government guidance then they can look to pull it a bit closer.
“We’re in the process of the third co-ordination of pre-season. Some friendlies are falling by the wayside. The difficulty is most leagues start in mid-September. We’re very limited who we can play against.
“We’re trying to sort a couple of fixtures from the division above, and then there’s the (National) South but then you’re incurring costs that clubs haven’t got at the minute.
“Then you’re concerned about playing too competitively at the risk of injury, it goes on and on, it’s very hard to co-ordinate.”
