SHEFFIELD UNITED boss Chris Wilder insists the Premier League season must finish with all 38 games being played, despite the suspension due to the coronavirus pandemic.
All English football has been suspended until at least April 30, as the country deals with the horrific outbreak.
Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder says Premier League season must finish with all games being playedCredit: Getty Images – Getty
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The Blades are in a strong position to make it into the Champions League, but it has now all been put on hold with uncertainty surrounding.
Wilder told the Daily Mail: ”I’ve told them to go out and enjoy it. It might be the last time they play for a while.
”The players have a responsibility to be ready if and when the season restarts. I have 100 per cent faith that they will look after themselves.
”They’ve worked unbelievably hard to get into this situation this season, they have worked unbelievably hard to get into the Premier League and they are a really tight group as well.
”They know they have had to be together just to get out of the Championship, so it has always been about the collective.”
A decision was initally made for the Premier League to be suspended until April 4 but that was shortly pushed back as the COVID-19 outbreak began to worsen.
Several high-profile faces within football have both contracted the virus and also sadly passed away, in the case of former Real Madrid president Lorenzo Sanz.
Wilder went on to add: ”At first, I didn’t want to play the remaining games behind closed doors but my point of view now is that, if that is what it has to be in order to finish the season, then that is what is has to be.
”There’s no compromise in this. We have to finish the season, however long it takes.
”The idea of freezing positions as they are now is not for me even though you look at the table and think it wouldn’t be a bad for this club from a selfish point of view.
”Everyone will look at it from a selfish point of view and they have to come out of that. The Premier League season is a race. It is 38 games. No matter how many points somebody is ahead or how many points somebody is behind, it’s sport and anything can happen.”
The postponement of the Premier League could well be extended depending on advice given by the government and the rate of the spread of the virus.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk