‘If we stop again then everything will change’

Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo fears of lasting damage to football if the Premier League is forced to stop again.

The Molineux chief is concerned for the game’s long-term future amid the pandemic with cases rising at an alarming rate.

Aston Villa’s game with Tottenham has been postponed after an outbreak at the Midlands club – meaning Spurs now host Fulham tomorrow at short notice.

Liverpool and Manchester United were revealed to be in talks for FIFAbacked European Premier League in October while Project Big Picture, a revamp of the English top flight which suggested reducing teams to 18 and scrapping the EFL Cup, has also been discussed.

Wolves host Everton tonight as the Premier League perseveres, but Nuno, below, remains worried.

He said: ‘If we stop everything will change. A new football will come, probably with a Super League, probably with other competitions.

‘It’ll be a matter of which clubs will survive. It’s a tough decision to make.

‘I don’t know what is better. What I’m afraid of is, if the decision is to stop, football we know now will not be the same. This is my biggest fear.

‘The schedule will go crazy and it’ll be impossible to finish the league and think about the Euros.

‘We cannot move forward and go back to a normal situation. The virus and pandemic is affecting things a lot, the increase of cases is growing in a scary way.

‘Things have changed, almost a year ago we were stopping because we didn’t know what was happening. It was something we hadn’t experienced. There were a lot of doubts.

‘After the restart everyone made a big effort. There were protocols, meetings, things exchanged, we were sure no matter what we were playing because we only needed 14 players.

Now things have changed and we are starting to think about stopping again.

‘If you have a crisis the strong will survive, what about the rest? My personal view, when I have an awareness of what’s going around, you will not find the same model we have now.’

Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder ‘wouldn’t be surprised’ if the Premier League season is suspended again.

The 2019/20 campaign was curtailed between March and June due to the pandemic.

A similar delay this season would be problematic with the European Championship, moved from 2020, rescheduled for this summer.

Asked if he thinks the season will be completed, Wilder admitted: ‘Everyone knows the situation and if it gets suspended I don’t think it’d be a surprise.

‘Everyone puts a TV on and sees the numbers rising.

‘If it’s the case to carry on we will, but I wouldn’t be surprised with the way it’s sweeping through the country.’