'Very scary time' for EFL players with 1,400 facing unemployment

Bristol Rovers midfielder Alex Rodman admits it's a 'very scary time' for players in League One and Two with over 1,000 facing unemployment beyond the end of June.

The EFL campaign has been suspended since mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic and players are yet to return to training, with the League One and Two seasons increasingly looking in jeopardy.

Football will not return before June 1 at the earliest following the government's latest advice but the financial requirements of playing behind closed doors are likely to be too great for lower league clubs to overcome.

"I'm pretty concerned and I think a lot of players, in League One and League Two especially, are very worried as well," admitted Rodman to BBC Radio 5Live.

“I don't see us coming back any time soon, possibly not at all. That's the biggest thing we're waiting for now.

“From June 30, I think there's 1,400 players out of contract in the Championship, League One and League Two. We look at the potential of having no fans until possibly Christmas, maybe even into 2021, and I think there's a real threat that the new season will be delayed.

“If that's the case, with players running out of contract on June 30, I can't see clubs offering new contracts in that period. I don't see how that works financially for players coming into the summer and clubs not knowing where their income is. So it's a very scary time for League One and League Two players.

" think the conversation about League One and League Two needs to move away from the season finishing and how we can combat the issue of players being out of contract for that long and whether clubs can do something with players to work together to fight that.

“It's going to be the most worrying thing for me and it seems to be the most worrying thing for the players I've been speaking to as well.”