Jones: We're as Covid-free as we can be following QPR postponement

Luton boss Nathan Jones has declared the club are 'as Covid-free' as they can be after their game against QPR was postponed last weekend.

The Hatters were scheduled to host Mark Warburton's side at Kenilworth Road only for the match to be called off on Friday evening due to number of players returning positive tests, with further testing unable to be completed by official EFL procedures in time.

Jones confirmed that the postponement had been a last resort and with the majority of the squad unaffected, this weekend's FA Cup third round clash at home to Reading is going ahead as planned, with the rearranged QPR fixture also taking place on Tuesday evening.

He said: "At this point we are as Covid-free as we can.

"One or two had positive tests in terms of knock-on effects of adhering to government guidelines and EFL guidelines of them having to self isolate, so we quickly established all those and followed all the protocols.

"But we did try absolutely everything to get the game on, we wanted the game on.

"It was a real disappointment for us to cancel the game and we left it until the last minute possible, but with everything we just felt it was better and safer if we did that moving forward.

"The isolation period is until Friday in terms of when people were flagged up.

"Some have to do 10 days, some seven, the 10 days are up on Friday but we are Covid-free.

"We’ve been tested twice, the club were excellent.

"On Saturday we tested ourselves and were clear, then we have been tested again as part as the FA, we were clear.

"What we have to make sure now is that we have to remain in our bubble."

Although Town's players and staff will now be tested twice a week from Monday after the PFA and EFL confirmed new procedures have been put in place, Jones admitted the club had also taken steps themselves to operate in a stricter fashion than previously.

He continued: "We have tightened up.

"The club has very good protocols here and what I think happens is sometimes you just maybe get a little bit relaxed around certain things and one or two things happen.

"If you knew the trail, you have to understand that people have partners, have children who are in school, or some partners are teachers, some partners are front-line workers for example.

"The exposure to it is not just through our football club, we’re just sometimes collateral damage.

"Our protocols are excellent, from Gary (Sweet, chief executive) who set those, Chris Clark (secretary), who does a wonderful, wonderful job in terms of ensuring they are adhered to.

"But sometimes no matter how good you are, you can get penetrated now and again, that is what has happened really.

"The knock-on effect was one or two players, one or two staff, then we had to isolate because of certain things.

"It is not as sinister or as bad as it first looks but what you have to do is make sure your protocols are right, make sure you tighten up on everything and we just had to go back to post-lockdown 1.0 in terms of our protocols.

"We’ve gone back to that, so without giving too much away, we were in a good place, had no positive tests.

"We allowed the changing rooms and canteens to be open so we could eat and we could be as normal, while still implementing the protocols.

“But because of this little infiltration, if you like, where it’s got in inadvertently, because we don’t want this to happen again.

“Honestly, it’s very difficult to explain without going into too much detail, but we’ve got really good protocols here and we’re very diligent here.

“The people here that implement the protocols and do their job very well, so we’ve just had to really go back to basics and shut everything down, really, which is pretty much what the country’s doing.

“We’re just working in line with what everyone else is doing.

"It’s the sensible thing to do and players realise it, because the most important thing is that we stay safe, we stay Covid-free and we’re able to play and win football games."

Jones did conceded that with some of the squad affected by the tests coming back as positive, it has led to even more challenges placed on him as a manager in the pandemic.

He added: "Totally, because initially when we had one or two tested, you could tell in training that a few of them were apprehensive on what we were going to do now.

"We put that to bed, we acted swiftly and had to, to put their mind at ease.

"Now with the testing as well, we were all back at it today and no problems, but it is, there’s a lot you have to consider.

"Managing a football club is difficult enough through these times, and not just managing, but being the CEO, or being the media officer, whatever it is, it’s difficult.

"There are different challenges, and we’re all learning as we go along, but as long as we stick to guidelines, as long as we’re sensible, as long as everyone is sensible, then it can proceed safely.

"We found that out as in a time when there was no guidelines and we did not know what was going on, we managed to get the season finished and praise the lord we did as now there’s a lot more knowledge around it, so we should in theory be able to handle it."

=-You have to keep them ticking over in certain ways, players not staff. The staff control themselves in terms of that but it’s unfortunate, really is unfortunate because