Coventry City Chief Executive Dave Boddy has provided the update below to supporters regarding the current situation at the Club around the Coronavirus outbreak:

First of all, I would like to wish all Coventry City supporters and the wider community well – I hope you are all staying safe and healthy.

It is important that we follow the Government advice to “Stay Home and Save Lives”, which will hopefully protect our NHS, reduce the number of people with Coronavirus and mean that we can all get back to ‘normal’ as soon as it is safe to do so.

Lives are sadly being lost in this pandemic, and the thoughts of those at Coventry City are with the family and friends of everyone who has been affected.

As fans will be aware, players are no longer at Ryton and many staff have been working remotely. In this period, the Club is making adjustments to how it is operated to make sure we get through this time, however long that or short that may be.

As such, all of the players and a number of full-time staff will be ‘Furloughed’ under the Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. This means that they will temporarily cease work and 80% of their wage will be paid by the Government – however we will pay the other 20% of their salary to ensure none of our players and staff, who all work so hard for this Club, are left out of pocket in this situation.

The players had already been working to fitness programs and I’m sure their professionalism will mean they will continue to maintain their fitness and to ensure that they are in the best possible condition for when they return to training at Ryton.

The staff furloughed includes supporter facing staff in our ticket office and commercial departments. We would ask that fans refrain from contacting these departments until further notice.

A small number of staff will continue to work to ensure the club is able to operate in the interim as best as it can, so that we are in a position to pick up where we left off when we are able to.

Having spoken to all players and staff affected by these temporary arrangements, they are fully supportive and understand why this decision has been taken and all look forward to returning at the earliest opportunity.

It goes without saying that we want to complete the season. Having had so many challenges already this season, this is another one that we want to get through.

Thanks to the hard work of Mark Robins, the staff and players, we are currently in 1st position in the League One table with 10 games to play. Our aim is for a successful conclusion to the campaign and for that to happen on the field of play. However, it is right that the correct precautions are taken for public health, and I would again urge fans and the wider community to follow the advice of the Government.

When there is an update for fans, we will provide it as soon as possible. At this time I would try to pay little attention to the media speculation over what happens next, as ultimately no one really knows.

I would like to take this chance to thank Coventry City fans for their support of the Club so far this season, both at ‘home’ and away. More recently, your messages of goodwill to the Club and continued interaction with players on social media during this time has been appreciated, and I’m sure it is replicated from them to you too. We are all in this together.

Whenever it may be, we are all looking forward to our next game. What an occasion it will be for everyone.

Stay safe. PUSB