Tampa Bay Rowdies head coach Neill Collins is “disappointed” not to be part of Sunday’s USL Championship playoff final, he told press on Friday.

Collins, along with assistant coach Kevin Foley and another unnamed member of the organization, tested positive for COVID-19.

“I do not know how I contracted COVID, and with a virus as highly contagious as this one, it might be impossible to determine,” Collins read in a statement at the start of Friday’s press conference. “Yesterday, I began feeling mild symptoms, and after my confirmed positive test result, my family began quarantining. We’ll continue to quarantine for a minimum of 14 days, and I’ll be tested repeatedly until I receive two consecutive negative test results.”

The team will now be led by Stuart Dobson and Chad Burt, who both occupy spots as assistant coaches with the Rowdies. Collins said they have his “full confidence.”

“Neill, I’m so disappointed for you,” USL President Jake Edwards said. “You’ve had a tremendous season. You’ve worked so hard with the boys to get to this point. You’ll be sorely missed on Sunday evening, but I know you’ve put a tremendous squad together, and you’ve got a tremendous coaching staff who are going to step up in your place and do the business for you. We’ll be disappointed not to have you there, but I know your club will represent you tremendously.”

Those thoughts were echoed by Rising head coach Rick Schantz.

“Knowing what it’s like to miss an important match, and be watching either from home or from somewhere else other than the bench, it’s very, very difficult,” he said. “I sent him a message, and he responded that he knows he’ll come out of this stronger on the other side, and I 100% guarantee that it’ll make him a better man, a better coach.”

In later questioning, Collins opened up on his mindset after the diagnosis.

“There’s no getting away from the fact that I’m disappointed that I’m not going to be part of [the final],” Collins said. “I think it was a great advert for the USL, two fantastic teams playing at a fantastic stadium. I obviously want to be part of that, but I’d be a hypocrite, because the biggest thing for us is we’re a team. No one person is bigger than the club, and bigger than the team.”

At the moment, it’s unclear what role Collins will play on matchday, apart from the fact that he will not be present at Al Lang Stadium.

“It’s been a fast 24 hours with the news, so we haven’t really gotten into the specifics about how we’re going to make that work,” he said. “As I mentioned, I really trust the guys that are going to be on the sideline. How we decide to get information from me to them is still to be decided.”

However, he downplayed the impact that his absence will have on the Rowdies’ chances.

“You prepare your team Monday to Friday, and then come that Saturday, yes you influence the game, but not as much as you’d like to,” Collins said. “I think once the boys take the field, you can make substitutions and you can shout as much as you want, but if you do all the work between now and then, you’d like to feel that it’s then up to the players to go and just play their game.”

The illness denies Collins the opportunity to meet up in person with his former teammates Darnell King and Damion Lowe. Of King, Collins said that he was “one of the best teammates I’ve been lucky to play with,” adding that Lowe was “probably the quickest center-back I’ve ever partnered. You know, I could have done with his speed during my career.”

While Collins hopes they have a good game as individuals, he’s still backing his side for the cup.

“When the club perform well on Sunday evening, and hopefully win the game, I’ll feel just as I would have if I was there,” Collins said. “It’s a great sense of satisfaction for everyone around the club. Again, I would love to be there to share it with the players and the staff and the fans, but this is part of a bigger picture. This is something that we’ve been building towards for two years, and it’s something that will last much longer than one night.”

Outside of the three positive tests, the remainder of the Tampa Bay squad and staff tested negative in a round of follow-up testing on Friday. They’ll face one further round of testing on Saturday morning, per a USL spokesperson.

With those measure in place, Schantz is confident that his side won’t be placed in jeopardy.

“We know that they’re in constant contact with Neill, and Lee [Cohen], and the Rowdies organization,” Schantz said. “I understand that they’ll continue to do testing, and make sure that everything is going to be ok and safe for the match. Our players have been in touch with the Players Association, along with players from the Rowdies, so I think the communication is key. Following protocol, and following safety rules and regulations is something that’s very important. We know that not the league nor the Rowdies would put anybody in jeopardy, and [they’ll] be above board as they have been all along in this situation.”

And even if he’ll be watching along from home, Tampa Bay’s coach refused to let the virus take away his sense of humor.

“I’m sure […] that the fourth official will be delighted that I’m not there,” Collins joked. “They won’t have to hear my Scottish accent droning.”