WEST HAM VICE-CHAIRPERSON Karren Brady maintains Premier League clubs are determined to deliver an end to the season when safe to resume playing, even if it runs into July.
The Premier League, English Football League and Professional Footballers’ Association met on Friday to discuss the economic implications of the suspension of the season.
There will be further talks in the coming week, with the projected restart of the season currently set at 30 April.
However, with Britain currently in lockdown, that appears a very optimistic target date.
Nevertheless, there remains a consensus to try to complete the current campaign, with the possibility of matches being played initially behind closed doors when it is deemed safe to do so.
Brady confirmed in her column in The Sun that West Ham have eight players in self-isolation showing mild symptoms of coronavirus and “seem to be well”.
David Moyes’ squad all have fitness programmes to do at home, with the current plan that they will resume training when the current lockdown period ends on 13 April, should further restrictions not be imposed.
“When we – all Prem clubs – last spoke, we agreed to get going again as soon as possible,” Brady said.
“And that games will run into July, if required, to get this campaign finished. This is the plan. This is what we want to deliver.
“It may be games have to be played behind closed doors, which no one wants – especially the players and fans.
“But we hope it might just be possible to go ahead once the sharp graph of it bottoms out.”
Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin, meanwhile, accepts any firm forward planning is almost impossible given the current uncertain outlook.
“Nobody knows when this pandemic will end,” Ceferin said in an interview with Italian media outlet La Repubblica.
“There is a plan A, B and C. We can start in May, in June or the end of June. If we can’t do it on any of those three dates then the season probably would be lost.
“There is also the possibility to finish the season at the start of next season, with next season starting a little late. It would have to work with respect to the players and the signing periods.”
