SWINDON Town head coach Ben Garner hopes more of his squad will choose to have the Covid vaccine after revealing his uncle died of the virus this year.

Around two-thirds of Town’s players and staff contracted Covid before Christmas, forcing the postponement of the home game with Walsall. A separate outbreak in the Exeter City camp saw Swindon’s Boxing Day clash called off as well.

Garner said almost all of the 23 players and staff have now sufficiently recovered, although two players are still absent due to longer-lasting symptoms.

Earlier this month, CEO Rob Angus estimated that only around 50 per cent of the squad is double-jabbed with many understood to be reluctant to receive one at all.

In a group discussion on Monday, Garner said he and his coaching staff clearly stated the reasons for having the jab before stating it is up to the players to make their own decisions.

Garner said: “I feel quite strongly about it as, unfortunately, we lost my uncle to Covid a couple of months ago.

“He hadn’t had the vaccination – through personal choice – and I’ve seen what that can do to a family. He was a wonderful man, and he’s left behind his partner and his children.

“It is a personal choice [to have the vaccine], we can recommend, but the players make their own decision, and we can’t force them to have it.

“I’ve made my points clear to the group, but we have got a decent amount vaccinated, and I’d like to think that more will now.”

Garner follows the likes of Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp and Manchester City chief Pep Guardiola in urging anyone eligible to have a vaccination to help protect not only themselves but their family and those they come into contact with.

The Town boss hopes that with more people boosted, it is less likely to impact everyday life in 2022.

He said: “We’ve given our view on this, we’ve made it clear what we think – both in terms of their health but also society in general.

“It’s not just how it affects you as an individual, it’s how it affects society as well. By protecting yourself you’re then protecting other people.

“With this strain that we’ve been hit with, no one has been seriously ill. We’ve had a few that have been in bed for a few days and have been wiped out by it, but nothing to the severity that has happened previously.

“Fingers crossed that will be the case moving forward, and with the increased vaccination rate hopefully we can move through it.”