Sheffield United's George Baldock says Premier League must finish what it started

France became the latest league to accept defeat on resuming its campaign on Tuesday, when the chair of FIFA's medical committee, Michel D'Hooghe, suggested all the focus should be on starting a new season in September.

Wing-back Baldock shares the Premier League view that 2019-20 should be finished if at all possible.

“I see the bigger picture here, I see people have lost loved ones, people are dying, people on the front line have contracted the virus and have died, and it's terribly sad times,” he stressed.

“But based purely on football, I can’t see the logic of starting something without finishing something.

“That's not me being biased because of the season we’ve had but I just feel for the integrity of the game, no matter how long it takes, you've got to finish what you’ve started. It's not like we've played four or five games, we’re most of the season through, some teams have got nine games left, some teams have got 10.

“Whatever sacrifices we’ve got to make to finish the football season, there are sacrifices being made 10-fold by frontline workers and people still working that are risking their lives, to save this country.

“I'm sure any footballer that will have to stay in a (quarantined) hotel or anything like that, whatever the rules are, will just get on with it because there’s a bigger picture.”

Sheffield United have 10 league games to complete, plus an FA Cup run which has so far taken them to the quarter-finals, where they were due to host Arsenal. The Blades are seventh in the table, which should be enough to qualify for the club's first European campaign, and have a game in hand on the teams above which could put them fifth, probably a Champions League spot.

Baldock thinks it will be a good signal to the country if matches can resume. He echoed Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti's sentiments in calling football one of the really important unimportant things in life.

“I'm clinging onto hope,” he said, when asked if he thought the season would be completed. “I'm really hopeful, not just from a selfish point of view. I just think if football can resume it will almost give people a sense of normality, positivity they’ve been missing over the last few weeks.

“I'm not saying football is the most important thing at the minute because it’s completely not, it's completely irrelevant. There's far greater and bigger things going on in the world right now and people are sacrificing their lives for us.

“But in terms of things that aren't important, football is really important, so if we can resume and it gets that feelgood around the country again then brilliant.

“I'm really hopeful and confident we can get playing again when it’s safe to do so.

“We just listen to what our club are telling us, they speak to the powers that be at the Premier League, who liaise with the Government. Whatever that will be, will be, but it's got to be safe for the public and we completely understand that.

“I'm resigned that it’ll be behind closed doors. Reading between the lines, watching the daily updates and the fatalities and the risk of infection, everything like that, it’s pretty obvious that will happen.

“It might mean the wider public get to watch it on TV which might put smiles a few people's faces.

“We'll just get on with it and try and do our best.”

Baldock and his team-mates returned to the club's Shirecliffe training complex on Tuesday for individual sessions within the social distancing guidelines, and thinks the work done at home during lockdown has left him in good shape if the green light comes.

“I actually feel really fit, we've all had to stay on top of our weight and send in pictures of our scales, we have to constantly give evidence of what we're doing, there are no shortcuts, we've got to do the work and if not there’s fines in place,” he said. “Judging by the runs I did on Tuesday, it was positive and I felt fit.”

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