Dire warning from Sheffield Wednesday manager Garry Monk

Remarkably, no club has yet gone out of business despite no fixtures since early March because of the covid-19 pandemic, but Monk doubts that will be the case much longer. Although he did not spell it out, his calls for clubs to control their own finances better apply to the Owls, too.

“I probably don’t believe everyone can be saved,” said Monk, who began his playing career at Torquay United. “Like in life, not everyone gets through it, but if we can minimise that, it will be a massive help to football and communities.

“I don’t think we can even envisage what’s going to come. My hope is it’s not as drastic as we probably all think. I hope clubs down the pyramid can survive.

“We all know the history of football and how important clubs are to certain communities.

“Football’s not the most important thing in the world right now, but it plays a huge part in a lot of people’s lives.”

A big motivation between the Premier League resuming on June 17 is to protect as much as possible of its multi-billion-pound broadcast deals. It is thought around £330m might have to be repaid if the season is completed as currently planned.

“I think we all know filtered money helps,” he said. “But it’s not just on the Premier League to support clubs. Maybe there will be a realisation that clubs need to manage their own situations better.

“It’s not just on the very top to filter (money down) but that is where the most funds are so maybe a rejig of that and something where everyone looks after each other a little bit more is needed.

“Having spoken to a lot of people in football during this, there are massive concerns and some things need to happen sooner rather than later to make sure that lower down the pyramid not just clubs but players, families and the livelihoods of the people who work at clubs are protected.

“I don’t know the intricacies of all clubs but it doesn’t look as positive right now going into a future with no crowds at games for the foreseeable future. It’s going to take a big toll and hopefully we can do something that lessens that.”

The Owls have been allowed to delay publishing their latest accounts by up to three months but in the most recent figures they were second only to Reading in the percentage of turnover spent on wages. For every £100 they took in, £168 went out via the payroll.

It led to Wednesday selling their Hillsborough ground to owner Dejphon Chansiri and leasing it back to avoid breaching financial fair play regulations, which allow Championship clubs to lose a maximum of £39m over a three-year period. The way in which that was done, rather than the act itself, led to a Football League charge the club plan to vigorously contest, but the fact they felt they had to do it shows something has to change.

Fortunately for them, eight first-team players are out of contract this summer, allowing for a remodelling of the wage bill.

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