Luton defender Martin Cranie expects the season to finish and says it will be “strange” but players may have to adjust to playing the last nine Championship games behind closed doors, due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Yesterday, EFL chairman Rick Parry sent a letter to all 71 Football League club chairmen mooting plans to finish the campaign in 56 days, including the play-offs, which would mean teams would have to play around twice a week.
In his letter, Parry wrote: ‘any decisions will be taken in conjunction with the government and relevant health authorities,’ but he added: ‘It is our working assumption at this stage that matches will be played behind closed doors when we eventually return’.
Cranie said: “It will be strange, but you’ve got to take certain precautions to put these games on, if they can go ahead, so that’s another thing that we’ll have to get our head around, going out and there won’t be any fans there.
“It’s all for safety reasons, so if that’s what needs to be done, then so be it.”
The decision had already been taken last month for the season to be extended indefinitely across England’s professional leagues and, speaking on Monday, Cranie said: “I’m sort of getting the vibe that the season is going to finish.
“We’ll have to get our head around that we are going back to finish this season at some point, whether it’s in June or August. That’s the feeling that I’m getting.
“I don’t know how long they can let it go for before they have to make a decision and say that it’s going to impact next season and the summer after.
“I don’t know, but in my head, I’ve got it that I’m going to go back at some point and finish the season off.”
Luton had begun to mount a survival bid before games were suspended almost a month ago, when the Coronavirus pandemic started to take hold in England, with just one defeat in their last six, lifting them off the foot of the table.
“We were getting points on the board, so it was frustrating,” said Cranie, adding: “I don’t think anyone expected at the time, that it was going to go as big as it has, but that’s it, we’ve got to get the mentality right now that, if it does go ahead, we’ve got to come back in the same shape and the same frame of mind to go again for the last nine games.
“It’s just trying to tick over at home, keep yourself right and when we do go back, hopefully we can carry on where we left off.”
The letter from EFL chief Parry said no training should resume until at least 16 May, so a resumption of action in June would seem likeliest, on that basis.
Cranie said: “Everyone’s in the same position, no-one’s got a leg up on anyone. I’d imagine there would be a few weeks’ training before they kick the games off.
“They can’t just go back in and play a game on the same weekend, so as long as everyone stays in decent shape, get a couple of weeks in when we get back and be ready to go again.”
