Defender John Egan says Sheffield United's squad are behind 'Project Restart' and "hungry" to play Premier League football

Chris Wilder’s side were seventh in the table when the season was mothballed nine weeks ago because of the coronavirus pandemic, but plans have been unveiled to resume the season on June 12 subject to the relevant approvals.

Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero and Danny Rose, the Newcastle defender, are among those to criticise the speed with which authorities are seeking to kickstart competition.

But after The Star reported Wilder is confident the overwhelming majority of his squad are prepared to follow the timetable set out by the governing body, Egan said: “We want to be back. It (football) is our bread and butter.

“The Premier League will have advice from specialists and experts and I trust them and the club to come up with a way of doing it that is safe.

“Speaking to the lads, the general consensus is that they want to finish the league. We’re hungry to get out there again.”

With 10 games of their league campaign remaining and only five points separating them from fourth-placed Chelsea, United, who have a match in hand on Frank Lampard’s team, were mounting a serious challenge for Champions League qualification before the lockdown was announced.

After being promoted from the Championship last term, Wilder’s men have also reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup - which offers an route into the Europa League - where they are scheduled to face Arsenal.

United partially reopened the doors of their Steelphalt Academy training complex last month, after introducing a series of social distancing and hygiene measures to try and prevent an outbreak of the respiratory disease.

Asked if he felt those were sufficient, Egan said: “I trust the doctors, the Premier League and I trust the club. They want to do it really safely.

“I’ve seen supermarkets where they’re trying to do the right thing but can’t because of people in there. Here, everything is so controlled and organised.”

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