Season suspended in March because of the coronavirus pandemic
Monday 8 June 2020 21:12, UK
Burton Albion player-manager Jake Buxton says resuming the League One season does not make sense for the mid-table club due to the financial damage it could cause.
Burton were 12th when the division was suspended in March because of the coronavirus pandemic - neither in realistic contention for a play-off spot or in danger of being relegated.
A clearer path for English Football League (EFL) clubs to decide how to end their seasons is expected to be outlined in Tuesday's EGM, with curtailment expected in League Two, potentially also in League One, but not the Championship.
The second tier of English football are returning to play all the remaining games from June 20, subject to health and safety protocols being met, but League One are yet to decide amid pressure from a clutch of promotion-chasing clubs, while the bottom tier has already made its indicative vote on May 15, due to costs of testing of players and staff.
"The players would love for the season to continue and try and play these remaining nine games but we also have to look at it from the club's point of view as well," Buxton told Sky Sports News.
"The cost of the testing kits, the cost of bringing players and staff off furlough to play these games and bearing in mind we're mid table, it just makes sense for us, it's just logic that we're in the camp that we don't really need the season to return.
"But we also understand for the integrity of the game, and if we're asked to do so, the players and the club would be willing to make sure we'd be ready and raring to go to make sure the season is completed."
A letter sent to all 71 clubs, seen by Sky Sports News, revealed clubs will vote on proposals put forward by the EFL board, Barnsley and Tranmere Rovers, two clubs who are in the relegation zones of their respective divisions.
They will also vote on amendments to the EFL proposal put forward by Lincoln City, Ipswich Town and Stevenage.
"We're in a position where we can take a step back in a way because of where we are in the league," said Buxton, who replaced Nigel Clough last month after the 54-year-old stepped down to ease the financial burden on the club.
"There's obviously a lot of clubs in our division who are fighting for different reasons - whether it's promotion or relegation.
"We've just looked at it in the fairest way, and the safest way for the football to resume, and that's the only way we can look at it at this moment in time. I'm sure that if we were in a different position we'd look at it differently, but we're not."
