Celtic among only a quarter of Scottish clubs to resume training this week

Rangers are expected to return over the weekend; Celtic and Ross County players to resume on Thursday

Scottish Premiership sides can return to training on Thursday but only a quarter of the division will actually do so this week.

Celtic and Ross County players will train in small groups from Thursday, while Rangers are expected to return over the weekend.

But nine other Premiership teams are yet to finalise their plans as they put procedures in place to adhere to stringent health and safety regulations.

Motherwell, Dundee Utd and Aberdeen are among those set to resume training from Monday, June 15, but some clubs may not return until later in the month, with the new Premiership season scheduled to start on August 1.

Last week, the Scottish FA lifted the suspension on football imposed on March 13, and which currently runs until June 10. Any club wishing to resume training must follow the protocol outlined by the SFA and SPF’s Joint Performance Group, produced in line with the Scottish government’s health guidelines.

Celtic and Ross County have both purchased machines to test players and staff for Covid-19. Roy MacGregor, the chairman of Ross County, says it was a necessary outlay to ensure the team will be properly prepared for the new season.

Ross County have invested in a Covid-19 testing machine

And he is confident all clubs will be ready for competitive action on August 1.

“For 30 players and staff, it’s going to cost us approximately £3,000 a week – so over a year £150,000, which is a lot of money,” he said. “But there is no alternative.

“There are 12 clubs in the Premiership, and if one fails, we all fail. If one individual goes down and there’s a Covid-19 case, the whole club needs to isolate for 14 days.

“I think clubs have great ingenuity; some may share a machine between a number of clubs. The Scottish FA, I believe, have a couple, so some could do that, or there are third parties who can come and do it for you, which is more expensive than owning your own machine.

“I think we will all get there, but it may take a week or two. We want as much time as we can to prepare the players – they’ve been out for 11 weeks now, and a pre-season is normally six weeks. Our doctors and physios are concerned they might be slightly more injury prone and there’ll be a slower pickup after being off that long.

“We were very anxious to get back as quickly as possible as that’s why we went and bought our own machine.”

Ross County’s machine will also be available for use within the local community. The cost of a Covid-19 testing machine is around £35,000, and some clubs based in Scotland’s central belt are planning to share a machine based at a regional hub.

Aberdeen chairman Dave Cormack last week admitted that his club face a £9m black-hole as a result of the effects of Covid-19.

Aberdeen are considering acquiring a machine which could be based at the Cormack Park training ground, with Derek McInnes’ squad poised to return on June 15.

With social distancing rules likely to be in place for the foreseeable future, there is no prospect of seeing supporters in stadia for months, and Scottish clubs face a struggle to operate without massive losses.

Aberdeen chairman Dave Cormack last week admitted his club face a £9m black-hole as a result of the effects of Covid-19.

Ross County’s MacGregor, who is also chairman of the Global Energy Group, also admits clubs may need to suffer for some time yet, but feels the dropping rates of infection in Scotland are a positive trend.

“It is a challenge, but it is for every business. My own company had that in the last few months, trying to put 3,000 people back to work with social distancing, and we met that challenge,” he said

“We are very fortunate to have our own academy at Ross County – we have something like 10 or 11 changing rooms, so we can use the whole facility to ensure social distancing. The only bit of the stadium that will be used is the medical room, and we need to make sure that it is cleaned regularly.

“This is the start of a journey, and how fast the journey goes depends on the health of our nation. It was great that yesterday (Sunday) was the first day in Scotland where we didn’t have a death, so that’s really positive. We’re not being complacent, but we’re trying to be proactive.”