Steven Ferguson has paid credit to his off-field team at Ross County who rode every challenge of Covid-19 since March last year.
The former co-manager is the current chief executive officer, having taken on that role just three months after the pandemic stopped sport last year.
Tackling all the vital safety issues to keep all areas compliant and safe within a top-level football club in Scotland has been daily on his to-do list.
The former player, thrilled to have seen the club maintain its Premiership status at the weekend, explained last season was like no other.
He said: “You can’t talk about last season without talking about the off-field work. It was really tough.
“You had all the restrictions and the guidelines that you have to follow. It wasn’t just a case of travelling the length of the country, like you normally would.
“To travel amid the Covid restrictions put so many more layers on top of it.
“We were the first club to test and the first club to get supporters back in the ground.
“At the end of the season, I have to acknowledge not just the people on the pitch, but acknowledge hugely the efforts of so many people.
“From our secretary Fiona MacBean, who took care of the admin side of the club, safety officer David O’Connor, Alan Heath, our child protection officer.”
Clean bill of health
Ferguson was proud that the entire staff at the Dingwall club rose to the challenges the pandemic threw at them.
He explained: “This year, more than any other, this was the hardest for any club, probably even in terms of the demands put upon all staff, including backroom staff, to keep Covid at bay.
“We navigated that from start to finish without any Covid breaches or breakdowns.
“For us to do that, a huge amount of credit has to go towards the people who worked so hard to make that happen.
“The players and the football club had a clean bill of health to complete the season. There were so many plus points from a structural point of view.
“A huge of amount of work off the field had to happen and the players delivered on the pitch by winning the last three games.”
Question: What do you call the angle inside the top-left corner of a goal frame❓
Answer: The Iain Vigurs Angle✅ pic.twitter.com/WJiz7uSGZZ
— Ross County FC (@RossCounty) May 17, 2021
Sponsors stepped up amid Covid
Supporters and sponsors really rallied around too and this helped County at a time when the turnstiles were not clicking, successful test events aside.
He added: “It has been a really tough year financially but I must thank our supporters who have bought into the Staggies’ Army (fans’ loyalty scheme) when we needed them. I hope they continue to do that.
“Our board sponsors, although there was no live football for them to attend, they still paid into the club and supported this football club.
“That cannot be under-estimated and, for that, we will be eternally grateful. This season has been about far more than football.
“It’s about regulations, temperature checks, red zones, amber zones, everything.
“We need supporters back. I will never take for granted what we had before.
“I have only been doing this role within Covid, so I haven’t even been able to visit people or clubs without wearing a mask. It has been horrible for everybody.”