MX23RW : Tuesday, December 24 03:30:35| >> :600:1552216:1552216:

Coronavirus latest: Barnet make 60 non-playing staff redundant

The club have been hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak.

Non-league Barnet have put all non-playing staff on notice of redundancy as a result of the coronavirus.

Having controversially allowed matches to be played over the weekend, the National League announced on Monday that all three of its divisions would be suspended until early April due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Barnet's trip to Yeovil was among the games that did not go ahead due to the ongoing issues and the side 11th in the National League standings have moved to cut costs.

Approximately 60 non-playing staff are being made redundant in "difficult decisions" that Bees chairman Tony Kleanthous believes were important to make sure the club "continues to survive and remains financially stable".

"I have to be open and honest with the staff and it's been a difficult past few days having to deliver the bad news but it's something that had to be done," Kleanthous said.

"I have not had time to think about plans for next season yet, but we will have to find a way to move forward based upon our current crowd attendance because existing National League rules limit any signings we can make or players' salaries we can commit to going forward.

"The knock-on effects are of course heart-breaking for me personally as I am fully aware of how this will impact my phenomenal team of hard-working support staff across the group."

Barnet were relegated from League Two in 2018, meaning parachute funding from the professional game for the academy will soon cease.

A club statement read: "Over the past few days, we have taken emergency measures to preserve the club and ensure it remains sustainable.

"Since relegation, we have seen a general drop in crowd attendances of 50 per cent, whilst general costs have increased resulting in operational losses of approximately £100,000 per month.

"The club budgeted for this cost in the hope of promotion but of course, at the end of April, all of our parachute funding will cease and we need to therefore make savings accordingly.

"In addition to these challenges, we have to consider the greater challenge of the impact that Covid-19 will have in the immediate and long-term future.

"In order to meet the challenges ahead of us, we will have to dismantle our existing cost structure and look to rebuild for next season with a much leaner cost base.

Darren Currie is the manager of Barnet
Darren Currie is the manager of Barnet (Tim Goode/PA).

"We have therefore taken the difficult decision to put all Barnet FC staff on notice. This is to include all first-team coaching and backroom staff, the Barnet FC Academy and many of the operational staff across all areas of the club.

"Having previously announced that all academy funding the club receives from the EFL comes to an end at the end of this season, academy staff had already been made aware of the situation.

"Supporters will understandably want to know how this situation affects our head coach, Darren Currie.

"Darren has a long notice period within his contract and as such, should the season resume, he will remain in charge until at least the end of the season and possibly beyond."

ID:393181: cacheID:393181:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:6566:
Written by
P A
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Barnet manager Darren Currie watches on during the FA Cup clash with Brentford on February 5, 2019
Read Next:
Barnet midfielder Elito claims he was headbutted - boss Currie
>
Read more about Tony Kleanthous Football
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1York City23146347202748
2Barnet23153547262148
3Forest Green RoversForest Green22137240182246
4Gateshead23135545281744
5Oldham AthleticOldham21127238191943
6Rochdale21113731191236
7Solihull MoorsSolihull2310584236635
8Halifax TownHalifax239862623335
9AltrinchamAltrincham239773730734
10Yeovil TownYeovil2310492825334
11Hartlepool UnitedHartlepool238962625133
12Eastleigh228863028232
13Sutton UnitedSutton239593029132
14Tamworth228592538-1329
15Dagenham & RedbridgeDag & Red227783529628
16Southend UnitedSouthend236982427-327
17Woking2366112133-1224
18WealdstoneWealdstone225892732-523
19Aldershot TownAldershot2358103240-823
20Fylde2364132847-1922
21Braintree TownBraintree2355131933-1420
22Maidenhead UnitedMaidenhead2355132745-1820
23Boston UnitedBoston2236131937-1815
24Ebbsfleet2316161754-379


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!