Guernsey FC: Coronavirus break will allow club to 'take stock', says chairman

Guernsey FC were the first side from a crown dependency to join the English football pyramid in 2011

Guernsey FC will use their season out of competitive football to 'take stock', says chairman Mark Le Tissier.

The Green Lions were forced to pull out of the Isthmian League for the forthcoming season due to coronavirus travel restrictions affecting Guernsey.

The league has agreed that the club will be able to resume their place in the eighth tier for the 2021-22 season.

"We won't waste this time where we aren't actually playing competitively," Le Tissier told BBC Radio Guernsey.

"We will be using the time to look back and take stock and talk to the people involved with our football club.

"We'll talk to fans, players, coaches, supporters, the media, because we want to know what they think about the club, things they think we could do differently or do better and have a look to see what the way forward is for the football club."

Channel Island neighbours Jersey Bulls have resumed their campaign in the Combined Counties League as Jersey has different travel restrictions.

Guernsey FC's only pre-season matches have been against FC Isle of Man, with whom Guernsey has an 'air bridge' allowing free travel between the two crown dependencies.

Currently there are very limited flights between Guernsey and Southampton each day, with flights to Gatwick not due to recommence until mid-October - while people returning to the island must quarantine for up to 14 days, making it difficult for the side to complete their 38-game season.

"We want to keep our players and coaches and the wider public in Guernsey safe, we don't want to have any problems with bringing coronavirus back to Guernsey, so we feel it's the right thing to do to withdraw and not take that chance," Le Tissier added.

"We know how much everybody's going to miss the opportunity to be part of our football club.

"It doesn't matter what your role is within the football club, we know that it's going to be missed, but the club won't stop doing things, we are a community football club and we will be doing things in the community."

Top scorer Allen to stay

Ross Allen scored Guernsey FC's goal when they drew 1-1 with FC Isle of Man last Saturday before going on to miss a spot-kick in their 5-4 penalty shootout win

Guernsey's record goalscorer Ross Allen says he will not leave the island to try and find football elsewhere.

The 33-year-old, who has scored 252 goals in 253 games, moved to New Zealand in November 2017.

He went on to win the country's league title with Team Wellington, as well as the 2018 Oceania Champions League which saw his side go on to play in the 2018 Fifa Club World Cup.

He was the top scorer in the 2019 Oceania Champions league with 11 goals as his Team Wellington side reached the semi-finals before returning to Guernsey in August 2019.

"I had a chat with Tony (Vance, Guernsey FC manager) about leaving and trying to play away again somewhere, but where do you go?," he told BBC Radio Guernsey.

"The world's so unpredictable at then moment you could go anywhere and then be put into lockdown the next week so this is the best place to be and you have to look at that as a huge positive.

"For me it's a situation where I can get involved with training, maybe do a bit more coaching to push that on and help some of the younger kids coming through.

"I'm definitely going to stay, I don't think there's anywhere I could guarantee safely playing, and to move your whole life in this climate is not worth the stress."