Chris Wilder says he wouldn't be surprised if Premier League is suspended again due to Covid-19 after revealing Sheffield United's stance on playing through pandemic
Chris Wilder, the Sheffield United manager, admits he "wouldn't be surprised" if the current Premier League season is suspended again as cases of Covid-19 continue to rise throughout the country.
The number of cases, deaths and hospitalisations has risen since a new strain of the coronavirus was discovered just before Christmas, and today the Scottish FA announced that professional football beneath Championship level has been suspended for three weeks.
Chris Whitty, England's chief medical officer, has warned that the UK has not yet hit the peak of the current wave of Covid-19 infection, with the next few weeks being "the worst" of the pandemic for the NHS.
And Wilder, asked today if he thinks the season will be completed, admitted: "I don't think anyone would be surprised [if it didn't].
"Everyone knows the situation and if it gets suspended I don't think it'd be a surprise.
"But I've been consistent with it, I want to come into work and play games. That's been our stance and it's been left with the government and the Premier League.
"It's taken off, from the fantastic news from the vaccine to the sucker punch of the new strain. Everyone puts a TV on and sees the numbers rising.
"I get what other managers are saying from a mentality point of view and from the morality of it all. We'll just go with what the government has to say and the Premier League.
"If it's the case to carry on we will, but I wouldn't be surprised with the way it's sweeping through the country."