Shrewsbury Town focus on mental health
Shrewsbury Town are ensuring the mental well-being of their footballers while the coronavirus pandemic keeps them away from the football club.
Town’s players and the majority of staff have been on furlough leave since April and this is likely to be extended into July.
The club have ensured no employee has been out of pocket during the challenging period, topping up wages to 100 per cent.
As per the rules in the government’s job retention scheme, those on furlough must not discuss or carry out work with colleagues, meaning dialogue between players and staff has been less than normal – though Ricketts explained he has been keen to check in on players on a personal level.
“On a human element we speak but we just can’t talk on any work,” Ricketts explained. “What we do as a club, we have done with the community at large, is make sure that everyone is OK.
“We’ve done that with all the season ticket holders to reassure them and it’s the same with players.”
The Covid-19-enforced lockdown has proven a difficult time for many in society, with some going days and weeks without leaving their homes or enjoying direct contact with others.
Boss Ricketts and members of his first-team squad led the way on reaching out to the community.
Between them, hundreds of phone calls have been made to elderly season ticket holders, the manager has also offered his services delivering fun packs to youngsters or old matchday programmes to others in need of a pick-me-up.
But, essentially sidelined from work for the best part of four months to date, footballers – some of whom are living in a different part of the country away from family – have faced an uncertain time.
And that is set to continue into the summer for many. There is said to be around 1,400 professional footballers out of contract come the end of this month. Shrewsbury have released four from Montgomery Waters Meadow.
Ricketts added on talks with players: “As a club we’re not asking them to work, but we’ll make sure they’re OK, if they have any concerns they can call me.
“From a health and a family point of view it is uncertain times, even taking football out of it.”
It was reported that there was a spike in footballers seeking mental health support in the wake of the lockdown, which was enforced in late March.
PFA chiefs said players struggled without a structure in their lives and with financial uncertainty.
