QPR chief executive Lee Hoos has revealed how recent events have reminded him of the need to cross-train the club's staff members across different departments.

It was announced on Friday that the EFL and Premier League had taken the decision to suspend all fixtures until April 3rd at the earliest due to ongoing health concerns, with this having plunged the remainder of the season into significant uncertainty.

The coronavirus outbreak has had a major impact on football in general, and QPR are very much part of this with one of the club's staff members having been diagnosed with the disease on Friday evening after showing symptoms towards the end of last week.

Speaking to the Open All R's podcast, Hoos revealed everyone who had made contact with the ill staff member was asked to work from home, but the chief executive admitted this then posed the question of how these positions could be filled on a match-day.

"It's highlighted to me that it's one thing to come in, cut costs and run a tight ship but it's another thing to realise just how thin on the ground we are," Hoos said.

"One of our staff had symptoms on Thursday night and we found out it was coronavirus on Friday morning, so the people around him we had to send home.

"But then people were going 'bloody hell, how do we cover this position on a match day?'

"So it's highlighted the need to me that we need to cross-train people from different departments."

QPR are currently sitting 13th in the Championship table with fixtures having been suspended for the time being, with the west London side just six points outside the play-off spots following an impressive six-game unbeaten run.

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The Verdict

The coronavirus outbreak has certainly had a major impact on the footballing calendar given the suspension of fixtures, but Hoos' comments reflect the impact ongoing health concerns have had on the behind-the-scenes running of the club.

It is clear that the football schedule cannot be allowed to continue while such issues are affecting EFL clubs, and this means the current suspension may well last beyond April 3rd as matches can only be allowed to resume when it is safe to do so.

Hoos' comments suggest how football clubs must have contingency plans in place for situations such as this, even though this public health crisis would have been almost impossible to foresee.