The First Minister has poured cold water on the prospect of closed-doors football in Scotland.
And St Johnstone manager Tommy Wright has admitted that even if there was a will to resume the sport without supporters in grounds, the cold hard financial facts will make it problematic.
The Perth boss, who dismissed the idea of the 2019/20 Premiership campaign being played to a finish, is fast coming to the conclusion that the resumption of football is “miles away”.
Nicola Sturgeon has hinted that it might take the introduction of an immunisation programme against Covid-19 for the ball to come back out again.
She outlined her concerns about people gathering to watch televised closed-doors matches in groups.
And Wright has concerns of his own from a clubs’ point of view.
“In Scotland it’s going to be very difficult for the clubs to play behind closed-doors because the business model doesn’t make that work,” the Northern Irishman pointed out.
“There are bigger problems for football coming down the road than deciding whether to end the season or not.
“Looking at the news and listening to what people are saying, getting the country going again is going to be a gradual process.
“The idea that one day the government will say ‘that’s it folks, you can go out’ and people will be flocking to football stadiums again seems pretty far-fetched.
“You won’t be seeing large crowds in stadiums for a long time and that’s in the whole country.
“That’s Old Trafford as well as Ibrox and Celtic Park.
“Something dramatic may happen and everything changes to let us get back to normal much quicker than they think, but it seems unlikely.
“People are dying in huge numbers every day so there is a bigger picture.”
Wright added: “I read Roy McGregor talk about it and thought he made some very good points about social distancing.
“At best we will be playing to vastly reduced capacity and if not then it will be behind closed-doors.
“Football will always be in the news because of the profile the game has and the fact people are desperate to see matches again.
“Getting it back on will help the country, it will be a hugely positive thing, but we can’t lose sight of the fact the world is in the middle of a massive health problem.”
It will be “impossible” to pick up and conclude the current football season, according to Wright.
The lower leagues have already been called by the SPFL but the door hasn’t yet officially been shut on the Premiership being played out.
Wright, though, believes the top flight will end up bowing to the inevitable.
“I was a firm believer that the season should be finished but the longer it has gone on you’ve seen how difficult that is going to be,” he said.
“The time-frame doesn’t allow it and then you have the contractual situation with players.
“You are getting to the stage where it looks impossible. There are too many obstacles in the way.
“It’s time to be realistic about it. Some people won’t be happy with it but it is reality.
“I’m speaking to people in England and they think they’re going to be back on the 13th of May – that just doesn’t sound remotely realistic when you watch the news.
“Government and their medical people will decide when we play football again and right now it feels like that’s miles away.
“In football, we may get a clearer picture from Uefa this week but it only seems to be heading in one direction.”
On the possible reconstruction of the leagues for 2020/21, Wright said: “The resolution went through and the clubs are now speaking about plans for the future.
“There were always going to be winners and losers in this, but at least there is something going to be put on the table to find a way forward.
“It will be up to the task force to decide on a solution and then persuade the clubs that it’s the best thing to do.
“Nobody knows what will happen because you’ll be asking 42 clubs to vote for it.
“People will think what’s best for them and best for the game in general, so it will have to be something that is acceptable to everyone.”
Sturgeon refused to put a timescale on when football will be allowed to resume but the general message for the sport in her lunchtime press conference was a bleak one.
She said: “I’m not yet in a position to give dates when things will start again and what order things will start to go back to normal.
“People should not be under the expectation that large-scale, mass gatherings will be starting anytime soon because we must make sure we are doing everything we can to continue to suppress this virus.
“In terms of playing behind closed doors, clearly there are issues there, in terms of does that clearly take away the risks?
“If a match is being played behind closed doors but is still on television, the danger is people will still congregate together in groups to watch that.
“These things have to be carefully considered and we will share as much of that consideration with you as we can.”
