Cresswell: Don’t rush us to play
WEST HAM’S Aaron Cresswell says Premier League footballers must not be rushed back into action to finish the season.
The Hammers defender, who is at home with his five-week-old daughter, Sadie, said: “Football can wait. Simple as that. I’ve got a baby daughter and she is five weeks old and I’m petrified.
“In my opinion, there has been a lot of talk about how quick we can get football back, but the main focus should be on people’s health and staying indoors.
“We’re all missing it but there is a whole bigger picture than a game of football and I believe once all this has blown over, we can get back up and running.
“None of us know how long we will be out for and we all want to stay in the Premier League.
“But we cannot rush back just because people say we need to do it in a certain time period to complete the season. At the start, I don’t think anyone realised how serious it was.
“Once we played the Arsenal game, football came to a stop after Mikel Arteta was tested and it came back positive.
“Their squad went into isolation and then that was pretty much it. There was no other option.
“Here we are four weeks later, football has been suspended again until 30 April, but the most important thing is everyone’s health.” Cresswell believes players will need a minimum of two weeks to get match fit.
He added: “There is talk of playing games behind closed doors, but I hope the players are respected as much as the public are and they don’t just ask us to play for entertainment on TV.”