We are acutely aware that everyone is currently talking about the EFL and whether the remainder of the League One season will be cancelled.
Frustratingly, there is still no clear answer – although we anticipate a vote will be taken next week.
In advance of that, we would like to make the club’s position clear. In an ideal world, we would love to play out the season in front of all our fans. Sadly, that’s not the new reality; somehow we have to make sense of the situation we are all in.
Of course, our priority has to be to protect the health of everyone involved with the club – players, fans and staff alike. Beyond that, we must do all we can to preserve the future of the League and to ensure all its member clubs survive. The majority of us are facing financial problems, some quite severely. Every day this issue remains unresolved is simply adding to that burden.
Given this fact of life, we will not vote for any outcome that potentially endangers the health of our players and staff or puts clubs under further financial strain. More delays, hanging on to see if the season can somehow be played out, all adds intolerable pressure to clubs in our division. We appreciate that not every club within the division will be feeling positive about the possibility of cancelling the season and we have sympathy for clubs in that position. However, we don’t believe clubs should be forced into a situation that increases their financial risk.
We can’t – and we won’t - take a short-term view. There are so many uncertainties ahead – not least the unpalatable prospect of starting a new season in empty stadiums. Our focus has to be on preparing for life without much of our matchday income; bringing this season to a swift end, instead of dragging it out, is an essential way of helping us all do that.
None of us want to be in this predicament but it’s our firm belief that we must stand together to safeguard our common interests. Only then can we preserve everything we value about the football league structure and the pyramid system.