Three clubs will be promoted to Prem
wards. Our end date, realistically, is July 31 due to the situation with player contracts. We can’t go beyond July.
“Players have been furloughed, staff have been furloughed, to expect our smaller clubs to bring players and staff back into training now and forego the furlough, only to find out in a month that we can’t play, would be a complete mess.
“We actually need within days to be making decisions so what we need really is guidance on returning to play and we need that very quickly because we can’t delay decisions, working back from July, players need to return to training very soon so critical dates are coming up for us.”
Parry was asked what the future holds for EFL clubs.
He said: “Our above aim is to be stronger, leaner, a proper reset post-COVID. We are heading for a financial hole of about £200m by the end of September, a cash hole we will need to fill, and clubs are stacking up creditors.
“We have a great deal of concern around next season, the biggest undetermined matter being when we’re going to be able to play in front of crowds.
“In the absence of knowing that, to speculate whether clubs will be out of business is premature as we will be doing everything within our power to ensure that all of them survive.
“I think salary caps and cost control are absolutely essential.
“There’s a lot of debate going on about that at the moment.
“We have the imbalance of distribution, the parachute payments [from the Premier League] that cause great stress within the Championship, so I do think the distribution model is a problem and any model where wages are 106 per cent of turnover is ridiculous.”
When asked if EFL clubs need to be ‘bailed out,’ he said: “I wouldn’t use the word bailing out.
“I do think we need a complete reset, we do need to look at the retribution of the revenues.”
EFL boss Rick Parry still expects three clubs to be promoted from the Championship and three relegated from the Premier League.
He said: “I think you can expect the lawyers to get wealthy [if the Premier League change their mind].
“There will be a degree of outrage from a number of our clubs in the Championship, it would be a breach of the agreement between the Premier League, the Football League and the Football Association.
“I suspect the FA would have a position on it as well.
“The safe answer is that it would get very messy as our expectation is that three clubs will be promoted from the Championship.”
However, Parry, says it’s too early to speculate about what would happen if the season wasn’t concluded.
“My view would only be a personal one, I think it’s premature,” he said.
“If and when the season doesn’t finish, then that would be the time for measured debate and consideration.
“There won’t be a right answer, there is no right answer, but what we have to try to do is come up with a fair and balanced answer that is appropriate in all of the circumstances but it’s not one to speculate on.”