MILLWALL boss Gary Rowett said some of the squad and most of the staff have had their vaccinations and the club were “encouraging” players to get their jabs.
The Lions’ pre-season preparations were disrupted with several players having to self-isolate after they were ‘pinged’ as close contacts of someone who had tested positive for Covid, as well as positive tests in the squad.
Last season, Rowett and his staff had to self-isolate for 10 days leaving Alex Pearce and Shaun Williams in charge for two games.
Some Lions players are still building up their fitness after spending a chunk of their pre-seasons at home rather than on the training ground.
But from August 16, adults who are fully vaccinated and under-18s in England won’t have to self-isolate if a close contact tests positive for Covid.
Millwall played Portsmouth on Tuesday night, and Pompey boss Danny Cowley said last month their club were also trying to encourage their players to get vaccinated.
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer last week said some of his players were “not sure” over whether to be vaccinated. From October, the government are set to push through plans that at events of more than 20,000, proof of having been vaccinated will be required. That would include staff and players.
The Professional Footballers’ Association said players should be allowed make their own choice.
“At the moment it’s their own decision,” Rowett told NewsAtDen. “Of course, we’re trying to encourage them to do it because then it makes things a lot easier past August 16.
“If someone comes into contact with someone who tests positive they don’t have to self-isolate.
“What we don’t want is our players constantly having to self-isolate without actually having Covid. We’ve seen pre-season how difficult that is to manage in terms of the fitness perspective.
“It’s down to the players, quite a number of them have got it. Most of the staff have. But there will always be some players who feel for different reasons they don’t want to have it yet. We’ve got a mixture.
“To minimise disruption, of course we’d love all the players to be vaccinated but I think most clubs up and down the country will have a mixture.”
Meanwhile, with the transfer window closing on August 31 Premier League clubs have started making moves in the market.
That should mean young players from those clubs becoming available for loan as managers make space in their squads.
Rowett said things have started to pick up. “Yeah, a little bit. But the thing for us is we’re still in the same scenario where we need players to move in the other direction before we start trying to do more business.
“We’ve got some good targets, there are some good players available. We have to make good, sensible decisions as well.
“It’s picking up pace, there’s a lot more movement than there was the last couple of weeks.”
Image: Millwall FC