There can’t be whinging from game’s millionaires
I have a very simple message to the people involved in top-level football.
This is not the time for them to start whinging.
It’s something that especially applies to the multi-millionaires of the Premier League.
Postponing all football until we live in safe times was absolutely the right decision for all concerned.
But normal life will resume at some point in the future.
I’m an optimist and believe the coronavirus will be beaten.
When it is, we’ll be able to get back to enjoying sport around the world.
The first thing football has to do is complete the season that has just been suspended.
People work incredibly hard to pay for season tickets and spend hours travelling all over the country to follow their teams.
Those supporters aren’t always given the consideration they deserve.
They should be this time.
That might mean playing three times a week – but nobody should tell me that can’t be done
They want to see the winners and losers from this season.
We need to have champions, cup winners and relegation.
Nobody knows when that will happen, but happen it must.
Then, and only then, we can think about next season and the seasons to follow.
It was quite sensible to postpone the Euros for a year and I realise that will pose a problem when we see club football trying to finish ahead of next summer.
That might mean playing three times a week – or more – but nobody should tell me that can’t be done.
The top clubs have more players than ever before.
They play on the finest pitches, the best training facilities, top coaching and groundbreaking sports science experts looking after their welfare.
When I nearly won the title with Ipswich Town in 1981, we had a squad of 14 players.
Aston Villa won the title and then the
European Cup the following season with roughly the same number of bodies.
Players’ welfare is always important but I will not accept whinging about a hectic schedule from people earning £150,000 a week.
Yes, there will be pressure on players and managers. But it’s a type of pressure they should relish.
Real pressure is on the people wondering if they can pay the rent or worrying about loved ones who are unwell.
There are a number of coaches and managers who feel that having a winter break is vitally important for players.
They might be right that it’s important but they’ll just have to find a way to cope.
In times of crisis, it’s important that people have something to cheer them up.
There are no easy answers to the problems caused by this pandemic but the football community should realise how many of them lead a pampered existence.
Smaller teams will have all sorts of financial difficulties and I hope the cash-rich elite clubs will help out to make sure they can survive this crisis.
I’m very well aware that we can’t compare the financial position of the English Premier League with what goes on in Scotland.
That said, I believe the same principle should apply.
We should complete this season when it is safe to do so and then worry about the future.
I think it’s the way the majority of fans would want things to happen.
There are difficult decisions to be made, but people are the most important.