Hawks director on coronavirus crisis: ‘Half the clubs in our league will go bust within two months’

The Hawks director stressed the need for a player contract contingency plan to be drawn up at non-league level - or clubs could face financial ruin.

On Monday, the National League took the step to suspend all matches until April 3 at the earliest after the latest government guidance in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

But Brock believes it could be months before football is given the green light to go ahead again in this country.

That could create a serious problem for clubs at National League level - and below - who have contracted players.

Most of the teams outside of the Football League pyramid rely heavily, if not solely, on matchday revenue and fundraising to generate income.

However, with no football for the foreseeable future and government advising against large gatherings or the public visiting pubs, clubs or theatres, Brock envisages a 'massively worrying' situation for non-league clubs on the horizon.

That's if the National League fail to act and come up with solutions to help ease the burden of clubs paying contracted players' wages while matches are suspended.

‘We’ve got two big whammies that have hit us in that we’re getting no match income and then secondly they’re telling people to avoid pubs and clubs,' said Brock.

‘Our other big money earner is the Westleigh which is a public house.

‘If you’re telling people to avoid it, how do our players get paid for the rest of the season?

‘The key thing for clubs at our level is we’ve still got players on contract being paid.

‘If your sources of income have gone away, most clubs at our level and below that have contracted players work on the fact they’re playing games and fundraising.

‘If all that stops for you, as things go, you’ve still got the outgoings without the incomings.

‘We’re going to have to take a decision on that in the coming days.

‘The FA are still telling us at the moment we’ve got to pay them.

‘It’s all very well saying ‘let’s stop football’, but how do you suppose we make up the shortfall?

‘Every club in National League South, I would say half the league, will go bust within two months - it’s that close to the wire.'

Brock had no arguments with the National League's decision to suspend all football until next month at least.

The Hawks director also had no complaints that the league continued with matches last weekend.

Paul Doswell's side ran out 2-1 winners at Dorking following Dean Beckwith's last-gasp goal.

There was criticism from some quarters that the National League chose to continue playing while the Premier League, EFL, Southern League and other divisions suspended fixtures.

Eastleigh boss Ben Strevens, for example, said there was ‘no way whatsoever these games should have been played’ following his side’s 4-0 loss at Notts County.

‘If the EFL are not playing them and if the Premier League are not playing them, then the National League shouldn’t be playing them.’

However, Brock insisted the correct steps were taken by the league - according to government guidelines at that time.

‘I don’t think there was any choice,' added the Hawks director.

‘We have to follow the government strategy, even though it might change quite dramatically from time to time.

‘All you can do is go along with it.

‘Football is important to a lot of us but it’s not as important as the health and welfare of vulnerable people, so you have no choice.

‘However, I think it’s going to go on a lot longer than how long they’ve suspended it for, which is April 3.

‘We’re not coming back to play football again on April 4, that’s for sure.

'They (the league) carried on at the weekend because they were following government advice which said you could at that stage.

'The Premier League and EFL took a different juncture but I don’t think it was a bad thing us playing on Saturday.

'The National League were following government policy at the time.

‘It was the Premier League and EFL went away from government policy, not the National League.'

Serious doubts have now been cast as to whether seasons can be completed up and down the country.

It would deal a major blow to the Hawks should the National League South campaign be deemed 'null and void'.

They sit second in the table, three points behind leaders Wealdstone having played a game more.

And given the situation the Hawks find themselves in, Brock would like to see the season be decided on a points-per-game basis - should it come to that.

‘There is no best solution, there is a solution we like,’ he explained.

‘Obviously, they have a choice between voiding the season which means nothing happens and you start again from scratch next season.

‘That would be very unfair for a lot of teams.

‘It could be done on a points per game basis.

‘We’re four points ahead of the third team with a game in hand, so clearly points-per-game would suit us down to the ground.'

Two teams are usually promoted to the National League from the NLS - one automatically and one via the play-offs. If the FA were to insist on promotion and relegation if no more games could be played in 2019/20, the Hawks could go up in second place.

Brock’s comments, meanwhile, echoed those made by Dagenham & Redbridge chairman Steve Thompson.

‘Potentially, some clubs are not going to survive this, he said at the weekend.

‘We've got a large social facility with two function rooms and lots of clubs in non league - and League One and Two - rely on that income.

‘People will also start to think if they should be attending, lots of the functions we have are 50th wedding anniversaries and birthday parties, do people want their elderly relatives to attend?

‘It's not just the football, it's everything around it. We are no different to restaurants, bars and hotels who are seeing a downturn in their numbers. We're all in the hospitality industry.’

The new chief of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, has already warned there would be ‘damage’ to the economy from the virus and small firms would need help.

‘Staff will start being laid off and that's going to have an impact on everybody,’ said Thompson. ‘We employ a lot of part-time staff on zero hours contracts and if we haven't got games or functions on, those people are not going to be employed.

‘That will happen in bars, restaurants, hotels and football clubs. Where you are with full-time staff and players will depend on how long this lasts.’