SIMON FRANCIS wants his Bournemouth side to beat the drop fairly — not by having the rest of the season cancelled.
The skipper has seen his Cherries struggling in the relegation zone this term.
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Bournemouth captain Simon Francis is determined to see his side earn their right to stay in the Premier LeagueCredit: Rex Features
With the campaign suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, they would stay up if the season was deemed null and void.
But Francis, 35, hopes his club can complete their fixtures and stay up — no matter how long it takes!
He said: “We want to prove we are good enough to stay in the Premier League.
“We don’t want to stay up just because the season has been cancelled and start afresh.
“The games have to be played.
“There seem to be two or three options and one of them would be to null and void the season.
“We don’t know the severity of the virus. It might be that is our only option, which I would be gutted to see as a player.
“It’s not because we’re in the relegation zone, it’s because you want to play Premier League games as a professional.”
West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady revealed in her SunSport column that she believes this season may have to be declared “null and void” — denying Liverpool their league crown for 30 years.
SIMON FRANCIS is SunSport’s new Premier League columnist and will be giving regular updates from behind the scenes as the coronavirus impacts on professional football.
Writing in his first column, the Cherries star said: “When I had a gym built down the bottom of my garden a few years ago, the lads at Bournemouth were giving me stick for being a fitness freak.
“Now we are training at home this week because of coronavirus, it has proved more useful than I ever planned it to be — and the other boys will be wishing they had done the same.
“In fact, our fitness coach, Dan Hodges, told all the squad that the club’s equipment provider can hook them up with treadmills or exercise bikes if they want them.
“The last few days have been very surreal.”
Leeds promotion in doubt as EFL admit they do not know what will happen after season postponed due to coronavirus
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
