SHAUN PEARSON has saluted his Wrexham team-mates for the way they have conducted themselves during the coronavirus crisis.

Pearson and the rest of the Reds playing squad and backroom staff have been placed on furlough, a statement from the club last month revealing: “We have communicated with all employees of the business – including the playing and coaching staff – to ask them to agree to move into the Government-organised Job Retention Scheme.

“The decision to furlough employees means we can pay them on an ongoing basis under the conditions announced by the Government.”

The Government are paying 80 per cent of salary for staff who are kept on by their employer, covering wages of up to £2,500 a month.

And while negotiations at Premier League clubs have been well-documented - and often tense - Pearson feels Wrexham’s players deserve acknowledgement for quietly playing their part in helping keep the club on steady footing.

“All the players are on furlough and they all accepted pay cuts,” said Pearson. “They deserve, not credit as such because of what’s going on in the world, but to be acknowledged.

“There are people arguing over what should be done, but as individuals the players understood the decision and agreed to help the club out in these uncertain times.

“It will be interesting to see what football looks like when it returns and what lies ahead for players.”

Pearson counts himself as “very fortunate” to be just one of six players still under contract at Wrexham next season, alongside Rob Lainton, Jay Harris, Luke Young, Devonte Redmond and Dan Jarvis.

The National League season has been ended immediately by COVID-19, and Pearson might have seen some of his current team-mates for the last time.

“It’s strange,” said Pearson, who has been keeping busy in the community by donating blood and delivering food. “People are out of contract at the end of every season and they move on, but this is a different situation given the season ended so suddenly.

“I wish all of the lads who do move on the best and hopefully they will all find a way back into the game when football returns.”

The powers that be are still yet to decide how to bring the 2019/20 campaign to a close with null and void and working out the remainder of the campaign on a points-per-game basis.

“It doesn’t make a difference to us,” said Pearson. “We would move up to 19th, but I wouldn’t want to be making the decision.

“Barrow would go up if they up points-per-game, but was there any certainty of them winning the league? They’d just lost the top scorer in the league (Scott Quigley) for three games. I don’t think you can make a fair decision. But then there is a space in the EFL with what happened to Bury, so one team could be promoted. If anyone deserves it, is it Barrow?”