MILLWALL CEO Steve Kavanagh revealed the Lions wouldn’t have had enough players to field a team this weekend against Preston – and he also addressed the club’s latest accounts which show losses at an “all-time high”.
Millwall’s game against Preston due to be played on Saturday was postponed after a Covid outbreak at the club.
Gary Rowett said positive cases were into “double figures” and the club has closed the training ground.
A host of games across England have been postponed this week and this weekend.
Millwall posted Kavanagh’s monthly update on their website.
“I’m writing to you off the back of the news of the postponement to Saturday’s game against Preston North End following a very sudden and swift outbreak of Covid-19 within the club,” Kavanagh said.
“As the week progressed it became very clear that not only would we not have anywhere near enough players to field a team, but more importantly that it was imperative the training ground, academy building and certain offices at The Den would have to close immediately to help stop any further spread.
“Thankfully, as noted in our statement yesterday, from those who have returned positive results, only a small percentage are experiencing any symptoms at all and of those who are they are mild. I’m not an epidemiologist by any stretch, but our experience of the new variant is that it is clearly highly transmissible, but the health effects are less than we’ve seen previously, and our hope of course is that proves to be the case for the wider community.”
Meanwhile, Millwall’s accounts show almost £8million of new debt. Clubs were without gate income for more than a year as games were played behind closed doors.
Kavanagh added: “We have recently published our annual accounts for the year to June 2021. Losses in those accounts are at an all-time high, as you would have expected having played so many games without crowds in that period and indeed the cost of different Covid-related measures that were required.
“The club are saddled with nearly £8m worth of new debt directly attributable to the pandemic which must be repaid over the next three years. You don’t need to be an accountant to understand the lasting cash impact on the club.
“As chief executive, I’d personally like to thank John Berylson for his immeasurable support of the club especially during the past 18 months. Without him I’m genuinely not sure where we would be today, and I know supporters will also join me in sharing their gratitude for his ongoing commitments.”
You can read Kavanagh’s full monthly update here.
Image: Millwall FC