Concerned potential restart coincides with relaxation of lockdown, confesses Nigel Pearson
Watford manager Nigel Pearson has opined that he’s concerned that the Premier League’s potential restart coincides with the relaxation of the lockdown in the UK. The English top tier have announced a tentative restart date of mid-June with clubs set to return to some sort of training very soon.
Clubs across the Premier League and even the Championship are set to start training in some forms with “Project Restart” slowly improving the situation. It will eventually see clubs play football in closed stadiums with no fans set to be allowed but reportedly the phases before that will see players eventually start training together. However, it has caused problems for clubs and players with concerns over a premature return.
The Daily Mail has already reported that a few players might boycott training over safety concerns for their own families which has caused even more concerns. It has even seen managers concerned and Watford manager Nigel Pearson admitted that he’s concerned over a potential restart. Pearson also added that there needs to be a more pragmatic approach and safeguarding health has to be the top priority.
"God forbid we have a fatality. People are closing their eyes to the threat. Yes, we would like to restart it but it's got to be safe. We should be cautious. To ignore possibilities is foolhardy. It's about safeguarding people's health. If I've got my cynical head on I'm concerned our potential restart coincides with the relaxation of the lockdown rules," Pearson said, reported Sky Sports.
“We have to try to believe advice that we're being given that we've reached the peak but there's still an incredible number of people losing their lives through this. The death toll in the UK is anything between 33,000 and 38,000. That's filling our stadium and then filling it half again. It's a sobering thought."