Hawks boss Doswell: If we can continue the season and it’s made safer, we’re bang up for it

The Westleigh Park boss has been stung by some indirect suggestions claiming the club took the decision on a financial basis.

But Doswell insisted that was definitely not the case following the news that the next batch of £11m in government funding would arrive in loans rather than grants.

Hawks took matters into their own hands and entered a 10-day period of isolation last Thursday prior to the National League suspending the South and North divisions for two weeks the following day.

At the time Hawks were waiting on a handful of Covid-19 test results, which as it turned out came back negative over the weekend.

Despite that, the club have been one of the hardest hit by the pandemic and are currently observing their third isolation since December 22.

On top of that, kitman Richie Pope was in QA seriously ill with the virus, chairman Derek Pope has contracted it and a number of other players and staff - including CEO Stuart Munro - have returned positive results.

Doswell stressed Hawks took a stand as a club in a bid to push for safer measures to be put in place - including mandatory testing to be brought in across the National League, as is the case in the EFL and Premier League.

And he pointed out any claims that ‘one of the best financially run clubs in the league’ entered a 10-day isolation period for any other reason are wide of the mark.

‘The reason we wanted a 10-day break ... we decided, as a club, we needed to go into a 10-day self-isolation regardless of any other club or what the league thought,’ said Doswell.

‘We did it for our own reason.

‘We wanted a 10-day break, again, to get our squad and the safety aspect in order.

‘It’s because it’s been right in our faces. Looking at my chairman on almost death’s door was a frightening thing.’

Ebbsfleet chief executive Damien Irvine, speaking to Kent radio, said it was ‘contradictory’ for some clubs who were keen to take part in the South play-offs last July now insisting the season can’t carry on if the funding crisis is not solved.

Hawks, obviously, were one of the clubs that most strongly argued for the play-offs at sixth tier level to take place.

Irvine said: In summertime some clubs pushed for football at all costs to be played in play-offs … there was no funding at that time, it was self-funded by clubs.

‘To take a position now that without grant funding the clubs want to stop now I believe would be contradictory.

‘We believe that goes against what they fought for in summertime.’

Doswell remarked: ‘Would I have been calling for the play-offs if we were in this current situation? Of course not.

‘Our view is that we wanted a 10-day break for our own wellbeing and also to call for mandatory testing.

‘If all these things are put into play we will, no doubt, carry this season on.

‘There’s a lot of chatter going around about different things and, ultimately, as I’ve said this was not a financial decision by us, far from it.

‘I’d say we’re one of the best, if not the best, financially run club in the league.

‘Our problem was at that time - and it still is - is the safety around having our third lockdown in the space of four weeks.’

Doswell says Hawks will return to training when their isolation period ends on Monday week in preparation for a FA Trophy last-16 tie with National League Notts County.

And he made it clear the club would have no problem completing the league season should it restart after the current two-week suspension.

However, that is not a scenario Doswell believes will happen with a number of clubs against carrying on with the campaign unless the funding arrives in grant form.

He added: ‘We’re bang up for finishing (the season).

‘We don’t think it will but we’ll make the point that, if we can continue the season and it’s made safer, then we’re up for it.

‘As far as we’re concerned our 10-day isolation finishes a week on Monday and, for us, we’ll be training getting ready for the FA Trophy game on the Saturday.

‘We just want it safer and we want it to be mandatory testing.

‘I think that’s the minimum, it’s what we did in the summer.’