Coventry City Chief Executive Dave Boddy has spoken to BBC Radio 5 Live regarding the current situation in the EFL around the Coronavirus Pandemic.
Boddy spoke to 5 Live Breakfast, and you can listen to the interview around 2 hours 20 minutes in the programme by clicking here.
The Sky Blues Chief Executive was asked about comments by EFL Chairman Rick Parry, who said on Tuesday that the season would need to end by 31st July and take 56 days to complete – meaning it would need to start by a month today, on the 6th June.
“I think Rick’s dates are spot on,” said Dave.
“We believe we need at least three weeks, maybe a little bit longer, to get the players back up to the fitness levels that they were at before the lockdown.
“We’ve always supported the premise of the finishing the season for sporting integrity, but as every day goes by I think it’s fair to say it’s looking unlikely.”
Boddy said that testing will be key regarding what happens next, and if the Sky Blues squad can return to training.
“I think one of the main problems we’ve got is when players do come back into training, testing is going to be key," Boddy said.
“We believe that to effectively test players, they need to be tested every day on arrival to the training ground. You can initially do running separately, but to get them back to the level they need to be for match conditions there will be contact and we believe testing is key to that and unless we can put that testing in place I don’t think it can happen.”
Having expressed his doubts about a resumption of fixtures, Boddy was asked about what should happen next and the frustration of the Sky Blues, sitting clear at the top League One table.
“It’s frustrating for everybody, we’re all in the same boat as a nation,” Boddy said. “As a Coventry City fan it will be frustrating – five points clear at the top and seven points clear of the promotion line.
“We believe that the situation should be dealt with the same as other countries– I believe France have produced tables based on average points per game, Scotland have done something similar.
“We’ve got some fairly clear-cut positions in this country – Liverpool are all but there as Champions of the Premier League, Leeds and West Brom are well clear in the Championship. It is for the (EFL) Board and Member Clubs to decide ultimately, but we believe that will be the fairest route.”
Boddy was speaking to 5 Live Breakfast, and you can listen to the interview around 2 hours 20 minutes in the programme by clicking here.