Opinion: National League should not be 'grateful' for the Premier League's £2m handout - it is a disgrace

I hope people remember the small local businesses who closed immediately to save lives but still paid their staff in full.

I hope people remember the big firms who flouted the rules and put lives at risk.

I hope people remember that Tottenham Hotspur, who are owned by billionaire Joe Lewis, who has a net worth of £4.358bn, used the government’s taxpayer-funded job retention scheme to furlough 550 non-playing staff.

I hope people remember the Premier League’s £125m financial package for EFL and National League clubs that turned out to be an advance on money they would have received later in the year anyway.

I hope people remember that just £2m of that £125m went to the National League’s 68 clubs. That works out at a measly £58,333 for step one teams and £13,636 for step two.

To put it into context, the average Premier League player earns £3m a year.

Incredibly, the National League said the £2m had been “gratefully received.” But what exactly is there to be grateful about? It’s nowhere near enough. It is a disgrace.

Chesterfield’s company secretary Ashley Carson called it spot on when he told the DT: “We have been given a hand out from next season's money. This only delays the problem. So we are just robbing Peter to pay Paul.”

The National League needs to grow a backbone.

They need to fight hard, make their voice heard and make sure they don’t let their members down.

The reality is clubs are in serious danger of going under and a huge number of people could lose their jobs.

Non-league clubs are a huge part of our communities and when all this is over let’s hope people still have their club to go back to.

It is time for the Premier League to step up and show that it truly cares about the future of non-league football which has developed a number of top flight stars.

If it doesn’t then it will leave a sour taste in the mouth of many and it will not be forgotten.