EFL chairman reveals the coronavirus could impact Portsmouth for the next 18 months

And he stressed clubs must be prepared to be ‘incredibly flexible’ with the logistics currently being calculated for how this season will be completed.

English football is suspended until April 30 because of the Covid-19 outbreak, although it’s highly probable that date will have to be extended.

Pompey quartet James Bolton, Andy Cannon, Haji Mnoga and Sean Raggett have all contracted the virus.

The FA have insisted, however, that they plan to indefinitely finish the 2019-20 campaign.

Parry refused to rule out games being played behind closed doors when matches do recommence.

And the former Liverpool chief executive says it’s highly unlikely the season will be over by June 30 – the date Uefa earmarked for all European club competitions to be completed.

Speaking to BBC 5 Live, Parry said: ‘We want promotion and relegation. We don't want an artificial end to the season.

‘When that will be, how that will be, no-one knows at the moment.

‘There are greater priorities in looking after the nation's health which we must never, ever forget.

‘People realise there is no rule book for this, no manual. We're going to have to be incredibly flexible in terms of how the season pans out.

‘We don't know whether it's going to be behind closed doors, we don't know when it's going to be recommence.

‘We also don't know when next season is going to start.

‘The idea that this is going to be neatly over in June and next season starts in August is wishful thinking.

‘I think there's going to be a knock-on effect for 18 months.

‘So we'll need a lot of flexibility, outside-the-box thinking and,more than ever, cool heads.’