Leigh Pomlett: I will do what I must to protect Walsall

The Saddlers emerged from the initial wave of coronavirus in ‘good shape’ with Pomlett handling things on an ‘hour-by-hour basis’.

And as the new Omicron variant causes widespread disruption – Walsall having two matches postponed in a matter of days – he is ready to go back to that way of thinking if needs be.

Asked about the club’s financial health and Covid concerns during an exclusive interview with the Express & Star, Pomlett said: “We came out of Covid in good shape.

“There’s a parallel to be drawn here with the medical situation – you put the club into intensive care.

“You manage it in an intensive care way, on an hour-by-hour basis.

“That’s what you do when a business is put into trouble, through no fault of anybody.

“We did that pretty successfully. We’ve come out the other side in reasonably good shape, and better than most clubs I’d suspect.

“I’ve mentioned it before, you cannot survive by borrowing alone.

“The full impact of Covid on football clubs is yet to be seen.

“I concern myself that there will be other clubs who have problems in the future. Covid will roll out over time. You can get by it by borrowing, or from grants. You can survive it that way, but there will come a day.

“What clubs will be very concerned about is a return of Covid.

“The recent Omicron variant. Is that a worry? It really is.

“It’s the last thing football clubs need, and we’re a big hospitality and events business as well, so it’s the last thing they need. I’m watching the situation very carefully, and if I have to put the business back into intensive care, I will do it.”

Walsall, meanwhile, have so far managed to avoid an outbreak in the squad.

And Pomlett admits he has encouraged players to get vaccinated.

“What we can do is protect ourselves from it,” added Pomlett.

“Without sounding too much like a medic, we have to be jabbed and boosted to protect ourselves.

“So far, we’ve managed to contain the ravages of Covid pretty well. But who knows, it’s one of these incredibly difficult things to manage.

“We could have an outbreak despite all the precautions we take. If Premier League clubs can have outbreaks, there’s an inevitability.

"You have to protect yourself as best as you can while recognising this is a very difficult fight in the short term.”