The candid admission made by EFL Chairman after fans update

Rick Parry says the EFL will stick to their plan to finish the current season ‘for as long as is humanly possible’, but can’t rule out different solutions for different divisions.

Parry issued an open letter to supporters on Friday morning in which he stressed that it remains his strong preference to play the current campaign to a current conclusion whenever it is safe to do so.

He warned supporters that this would amost certainly mean playing behind closed doors, with the EFL currently exploring how to broadcast games in that eventuality.

Speaking to Sky Sports’ The Football Show shortly after, he admitted that much nevertheless remains unknown as the COVID-19 crisis continues. “Our position at the moment is we want to finish the season on the pitch, and sporting integrity is of paramount importance,” he said.

“That is a line we are sticking to for as long as we humanly can.

“Is it conceivable that there could be different solutions for different leagues?

“Frankly, anything is possible or conceivable and it would be daft to rule anything out because if this becomes increasingly serious and the financial situation becomes increasingly perilous then that is a fact of life we'll have to deal with.

“For the next few weeks the focus is on finishing on the pitch and getting back to something approaching normality.

“But it's under review all the time and we will respond as we have to.

“There are all sorts of permutations,” he added.

“We could decide we have to at some stage take a longer break and that we don't have to resume for weeks, well into the autumn or even beyond.

“We could also have a break then finish the season before rolling into the next.

“There are so many possibilities that shouldn't be ruled out, but we're not there yet. At the moment the thinking is that we can get the season finished, but clearly every week and month that goes by that becomes more unlikely.

“Everything is speculative but you can't rule anything out, because it would be foolish. It's just about trying to pick the way through as calmly as possible and making decisions based on evidence rather than speculation.”