Our plan is to play and get the season finished after coronavirus nightmare – but priority has to be country’s health

IT is a paradox that at a time football would be a great comfort to millions, it must not be played because, rightly, people’s health is our priority.

What is going on in our country and the world is unprecedented and the game is not a necessity — like food or healthcare.

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But to millions upon millions of us, football’s disappearance from life is very relevant indeed.

So, we all want it back in a hurry.

There’s the Premier League to be decided although, obviously, not the title — which is all but owned by Liverpool.

But neither the Prem nor the EFL have finished this season’s games.

Plus, there is the FA Cup, continental leagues, European competitions, European Championship and almost everything in between.

The next Prem meeting is on Friday and the main topic of conversation will be when games can restart.

When we — all Prem clubs — last spoke, we agreed to get going again as soon as possible.

And that games will run into July, if req­uired, to get this campaign finished.

This is the plan. This is what we want to deliver.

Players are currently not in training and housebound to comply with social distancing rules currently in place until April 13, when we expect training to restart.

And following further Government guidelines, we have eight West Ham players in isolation.

‘EIGHT WEST HAM PLAYERS IN ISOLATION’

Although I am relieved to say they are all showing mild symptoms and, along with their families, seem to be well.

But it is no more than a handshake, sneeze or cough away from any of us, so no one should be complacent.

All the players, including those in self-isolation, are desperate to get back to training and play the games.

In the meantime, they have been sent a whole set of rules as well as club gym equipment.

We respect them as professionals who understand fitness is critical to the way they perform.

Like every other club, West Ham are doing our bit.

We are helping in the community and have introduced an extensive programme of player- led entertainment for children at home.

This involves players reading books, doing exercises, masterclasses, baking with the club chef and offering prizes.

Our stadium is locked down and utterly deserted and so are the training grounds.

Staff who can are working from home, while all other operations are suspended.

The Premier League and EFL are expecting to dodge the fate of this summer’s Olympic Games and an increasing host of other sports.

Time will tell but it’s simply not in our hands at the moment.

In China, coronavirus appears to have been smothered by denying it room to be passed around.

Whether this is temp­orary or not lies at the heart of whether sport can restart anytime soon.

Because it is so cont­agious, it affects princes, players and people without discrimination.

The moment Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta revealed he had caught the virus, it became clear football — indeed all sport — had to stop.

It is obvious that we cannot risk going ahead with a league while coronavirus stalks the touchlines and terraces.

It may be games have to be played behind closed doors, which no one wants — especially the players and fans.

But the virus is not easy to predict and very hard to detect.

At Portsmouth, five players   have tested positive for the virus.

But we hope it might just be possible to go ahead once the sharp graph of it bottoms out.

I certainly hope so as these are incredibly worrying times for every club — and those in the Prem are not immune.

There is no income, no gate money, no retail income and, for most, no sale of next year’s season tickets, either.

As Brighton chief exec Paul Barber said: “We are all suffering at the moment, Premier League clubs as well.

“First of all we’ve got to safeguard jobs for our people.”

As for a restart, the Government would have to agree, or even make a special exemption for some forms of the professional game.

It is a near £10billion industry — paying £3.3bn taxes — which employs, at a guess, 10,000 people.

But knowing football is going ahead would give the country a lift, so it is very possible we will be allowed, if safe do to so.

But the priority, above all, has to be the health and fitness of the nation as a whole.