Walsall staff take temporary wage cuts as chairman Leigh Pomlett issues update on the club's financial position

In a Q&A released by the club, Pomlett discussed a variety of topics from their stance on finishing the season, to the current financial situation.

The 63-year-old announced earlier this month that the majority of his staff are on the furlough scheme, and he has now touched again on the sacrifices the club and its staff have had to make.

“The staff have been exemplary during the lockdown period,” he said.

“I had a video conference call with all of the permanent staff last week and every single one of them understands the situation we are in at the moment. Temporary wage cuts have been taken, wage deferrals have also been put in place and some staff are also working voluntarily and they are working very hard.

“We have furloughed the majority of our staff and implemented a wage reduction and deferral scheme with every single department contributing. In addition to those measures, we have changed our pitch renovation plans, we have cancelled the pre-season tour and we have also paused the Community Hub build.

“The executive board meet twice daily via a conference call as we look to guide the club through this period. The communications team also meet in this manner daily and I have been pleased with our output as a football club. I also speak to Darrell daily.

“We have changed the way we work to ensure we are as productive as we can be at this time and I am content that we are doing all we can to work through this period.”

When asked at what point Pomlett will become worried about the future of the club, he insisted it depends on the support from governing bodies and how long lockdown lasts.

“Much will depends on the actions we take as a Club and the possible relaxation of the lockdown rules,” he said. It also depends on the support we get from the EFL, the government, banks, supporters and the Premier League.

“At the moment, we are in reasonable shape and much better than a lot of clubs but we need to be very vigilant over the coming weeks to protect our club. Like anyone though, these are worrying times for all of us.”

Meanwhile, reports have suggested that League One and League Two could be regionalised to help finish the season – while much has been made of players who are out of contract on June 30.

Pomlett has said that the club are already exploring extending deals with players, while insisting that regionalisation is not something that has been discussed.

“We will await guidance from the relevant bodies, EFL, FA, FIFA, on this issue,” he added.

“As it stands, legally the contracts will terminate, but as a club we may choose to exercise our options on certain players. This is something I am already in dialogue with Darrell about.

“This (regionalisation) hasn’t been discussed in any League Two meeting that we have had.

“Stefan (Gamble), Dan (Mole) and I meet formally with representatives of the EFL weekly – via conference call – for updates and to discuss matters in hand.

“We also meet with a League Two ownership group in a less formal manner weekly too. At no point has a regionalisation been on the agenda.”

The EFL’s position on finishing the season has not changed, as they insist on doing so when it is safe.

Walsall and Pomlett are very much in the same boat, believing it is needed to ‘protect the integrity’ of football.

“The club would support completing the end of the season to protect the integrity of the competition and to fulfil our contractual obligations providing it is safe to do so,” he said.

“We would hope to do that in front of a live crowd but the reality is this may have to be behind closed doors.

“In that event, games, both home and away, would be live streamed through iFollow. If that is the case, we intend to provide season ticket holders with access free of charge, whilst a match day pass could be obtained by non-season ticket holders.

“As it stands, various models that would allow us to have a live crowd in the stadium are being investigated which could comply with social distancing but allow matches to go ahead.”

Finally, Pomlett has urged fans to be patient after thousands of supporters came out to help the club – however they are welcoming any ideas that the Saddlers faithful have.

“Just show patience please and if anyone has any ideas, we will be listening.

“There’s still plenty of avenues for supporters to communicate their ideas to us, whether that is through our social media channels or emailing us.

“I would just like to say thank you once again to everyone who purchased a season ticket during the early bird campaign. Your support quite frankly went beyond my expectations and I can’t thank you enough for that.”