Now comes the hard part for Sheffield United and other Premier League clubs hoping for a quick restart

But when representatives of the country’s leading 20 clubs gathered to discuss ‘Project Restart’ on Tuesday, it became clear a number of significant obstacles must still be overcome before a season, suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic in March, can be completed.

Those are likely to be confronted again this morning, with Premier League members scheduled to debate how to best proceed during their third tele-meeting in only 72 hours.

Although yesterday’s vote to resume full contact training was significant - particularly given the proposal received unanimous approval - much tougher challenges await those hoping to begin staging matches again on June 12.

One will be convincing those delegates whose teams are threatened with relegation to agree to a definite timetable. Another, if police chiefs choose to resurrect their call for games to take place not only behind closed doors but also at neutral venues, to give up their right to home advantage.

Although the financial consequences of calling a halt to the present campaign and starting afresh in, say, September will doubtless focus minds across the virtual conference table, only the most innocent of observers would believe there is not a huge amount of horse trading and politicking going on behind the scenes.

Scrolling back through the archives of the PL’s attempt to set a firm date for the ban on fixtures to be lifted reveals how certain clubs, depending upon how directives from the organisation’s headquarters in London directly affect them, have subtly shifted their positions on key issues. Seemingly non-negotiable demands are quietly dropped, old allies discarded and new allegiances forged in order to strengthen their bargaining positions. This is particularly noticeable whenever the dreaded ‘R’ word is mentioned.

Sheffield United’s position is clear. Manager Chris Wilder has made no secret of his desire to complete the schedule, praising the work of both Bramall Lane’s in-house doctors and the PL’s medical team to ensure the safety of his players since they began small-sided sessions at the Steelphalt Academy last week. United were seventh in the table - only five points outside the Champions League places - when the country was placed into lockdown.

“The doctors, I’ve got to say, have been magnificent,” Wilder told The Star. “To get us up and running again, they’ve been part of it all the way and we wouldn’t have been able to do it without them.”

“I always remind people that football clubs are about more than what happens on a Saturday afternoon,” he added. “They’re about the people behind the scenes, who often don’t get a lot of publicity, but who play a huge part in making sure everything we do is possible.”

Wilder’s faith in their expertise appears to be well-founded, with the first two rounds of a competition-wide screening programme returning only eight positive tests. This figure suggests footballers enjoy a greater degree of protection against the virus than society at large. The statistics could go some way towards persuading those players with genuine concerns about the health and well-being of both themselves and their families to step up their preparations.

Watford’s Troy Deeney and N’Golo Kante of Chelsea are among those to refuse to take part in group training sessions, with others stating how members of BAME communities appear particularly susceptible to the respiratory disease.

Deeney’s young son suffers from breathing difficulties and the striker is understandably concerned about potentially exposing him to Covid-19.

“While we are being tested and while we are going to be in a very safe environment, it only takes one person in the group,” Deeney, speaking on a podcast hosted by one of the PL’s major rights-holders, saud. “I don’t want to be bringing that home.”

“If I can’t get a haircut until mid-July, but I can jump in a box with 19 people for a header, I don’t know how that works,” Deeney continued. “No one could answer the questions, not because they didn’t want to, because they don’t have the information.”

Time appears to be the greatest enemy of those looking to trigger ‘Project Restart’, with the PL warning the 2020/21 season must begin in September to avoid even greater disruption ahead of next summer’s European Championships.

The decision to publicly state its position - especially given that UEFA appears to have dropped its demand for leagues to confirm their exact return dates this week - suggests PL officials are aware some teams might be tempted to deliberately stall the progress of their latest talks.

Although the Bundesliga has enjoyed a relatively trouble free return to action since matches in Germany resumed earlier this month, the PL is aware that any further delays could make it impossible to complete its own schedule.

For that reason, United and their top-flight counterparts will also be asked to investigate ways of deciding final league positions should the campaign be curtailed. Although using a ‘points per game’ measure to calculate these would favour United - seeing them leapfrog Wolverhampton Wanderers into sixth and therefore securing entry into the Europa League - Wilder is adamant results across a season as a whole are the only true gauge of a team’s performances.

“I think we finish it whatever,” he said recently. “I don’t see any merit in trying to work out what happens next (season) until this one is done.”

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