Former Manchester United centre-back and current Newcastle United boss, Steve Bruce, claims there is widespread opposition among managers to the Premier League’s restart plan.
The FA are looking to get the English top flight restarted on 12 June.
Premier League officials met with managers via video conference on Wednesday and Steve Bruce has now come out saying there were real concerns over the timing due to players fitness around a two month lay-off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bruce told the Sunday Telegraph:
“We’ve listened to what has been said and, with the precautions taken, we will get back to work and start phase one.
“Phase one will be mainly fitness work, four or five players on a pitch. Let’s see how we get on [and hope there are no infections].
“You have to remember that they have had eight weeks off and that is probably the longest break some of these players have had in their careers.”
The Magpies manager went on to mention the lack of friendlies before heading into competitive Premier League games will prevent players being match fit for the restart:
“If we were doing pre-season, we would have six weeks and probably have six friendly games to get them ready for the first league match. So, we need a good stretch of time here to get them ready. Certainly, once we get into stage two, that is vitally important.
“We need enough preparation time to get these players into shape or they are just going to fall down like a pack of cards. Most of the managers have the same concerns. We would need at least six weeks. I don’t see how we can play games until the back end of June.”
The German Bundesliga season restarted this weekend, giving hope to the Premier League, Spain’s La Liga and Italy’s Serie A for a return to their 2019-20 seasons, with all three aiming for the same weekend in June.
Steve Bruce played nine seasons for Manchester United between 1987-96, winning the Premier League and FA Cup three times each with us, as well as the 1991 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login