Chairman Thomas says Cobblers in 'relatively strong position' but face 'significant financial challenges' amid COVID-19 pandemic

Cobblers chairman Kelvin Thomas says the club are in a 'relatively strong position' to deal with the 'significant financial challenges' following the postponement of all EFL fixtures due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The current football season is in the middle of a three-week suspension across all levels up and down the UK, but further delays are likely given the continued widespread outbreak of COVID-19.

That brings obvious financial problems for clubs across the land but especially those in the lower leagues, who face the loss of gate receipts, sponsorship payments and season ticket sales for next season.

But while Thomas admits it's a 'very concerning' time, he has reassured Cobblers supporters that the club can cope with the current situation.

"The reality is that this will be a financial challenge for every single football club and every single business in the country and it'll impact everyone from an economical financial position," said Thomas.

"Obviously there's the health aspect of the virus but in terms of the football club and the economics of it , it's very concerning what we're going to face.

"We're in a pretty nice position in the sense that any debt in the football club is to David (Bower) and myself and that puts us in a bit of a stronger position.

"We've always funded the club and we've always paid bills and paid people on time so we haven't had issues that other clubs have had before the virus in terms of the cashflow."

The EFL board are meeting today (Wednesday) to discuss the next steps and find ways to help clubs in desperate need of financial support.

"There's a big meeting with the EFL today to talk about some of those issues and it's not just the short term but also what happens in the medium term and what happens for the rest of the season," added Thomas.

"Can we finish the season? What do we do if we can't? But the main conversation is going to be about the short-term and what solutions there are.

"Can the Football League potentially advance money that we're due for the rest of the year? Are there conversations to be had with HMRC to delay some of the payments while we're not getting income?

"Unfortunately, like any business, you've still got your expenses such as wages on staff and players - but if you have no income, that presents a significant challenge.

"I feel at Northampton we're in relatively strong position to deal with it but we're going to have challenges going forward in terms of our finances and finding ways to replace that income, whether that's through subsidies, grants or loans from the government, I'm not sure."