Portsmouth's forthright view over their position on finishing season impacting safety

But Blues chief executive Mark Catlin acknowledged the Blues face having to change views of other clubs to complete the season on the pitch.

It’s set to be a big few days for deciding the way forward on the League One season after Friday’s meeting of EFL members.

Pompey formed a collective of six clubs chasing promotion who outlined their position is to do everything to complete their term in the traditional fashion amid the coronavirus crisis.

That’s in line with the EFL view outlined by chairman Rick Parry last month, although the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic means many clubs are no longer in that camp.

There are some concerns over how finishing the season could impact safety, with eyes on the Bundesliga in Germany as it returned on Saturday.

Catlin has continually stressed ensuring the health of participants and those around a potential return would be paramount.

And he highlighted how both the government position on the return of elite sport chimes with Pompey’s view, along with last week’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport’s release on safe training at elite level.

Catlin said: ‘There’s mixed views and opinions. There’s going to be - we have to respect that.

‘The route forward is there’s a return-to-training date on May 25 and everything we’re doing is gearing up to that date.

‘The notion we’re putting people at risk, that would be going against government and DCMS advice.

‘That is what we’ve all as a society based our decisions on over the last eight weeks.

‘You can’t just pick and choose when you take that advice - and the advice given around the five key points and testing regimes is it’s safe to continue.’