Ipswich Town one of six League One clubs pushing for season to be finished as owner Evans writes to EFL

Darragh MacAnthony, left pictured with Barry Fry, wants the League One season to be played to a conclusion. Picture: PA (Image: PA Archive/PA Images)

Owner Marcus Evans has written a letter to the EFL once again insisting his club want to complete their remaining eight games, a stance the club have maintained since football was shut down on March 13 due to the coronavirus crisis,

Peterborough owner Darragh MacAnthony issued a statement on behalf of Oxford, Fleetwood, Portsmouth, Sunderland, Ipswich and his own club, insisting those six sides all retain a desire to finish the campaign when it’s safe to do so.

Those six clubs were sitting third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and 10th when football was suspended - with top two Coventry and Rotherham not included in the Irishman’s list.

EFL clubs are due to meet tomorrow in a week where it’s been widely speculated the League One and League Two seasons will be ended and the outcome of the final table decided using a points-per-game formula. However there is not expected to be a vote on the matter at tomorrow’s meeting and there is renewed optimism the third tier season could be completed. That is far from certain, though.

Ipswich have consistently stated their desire to complete the season when it’s safe to do so, citing reasons of sporting integrity, with Evans’ letter insisting that remains the case as long as it is safe to resume.

MacAnthony tweeted: “I have been asked to relay this message on behalf of @OUFCOfficial @ftfc @Pompey @SunderlandAFC @IpswichTown @theposhofficial to the @EFL & the media ahead of the our @SkyBetLeagueOne meeting tomorrow morning.

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“We as a collective are united in our goal to finish this season. We have no desire for voiding the season, PPG scenarios/letting a computer decide our footballing fate. For our fans/staff & for the integrity of our sport we are all looking forward to completing our pending fixtures/season under guidance from the EFL at a time it is deemed safe to do so. Thank you for your time.”

Fleetwood Town chairman Andy Pilley added: “We @ftfc are backing the completion of @EFL lge 1 fixtures.

Sporting integrity is of paramount importance, we cannot accept ppg or any other conclusion without giving it our best shot in a safe environment

Germans, Prem, championship and many more are completing and so should we.”

Portsmouth chief executive Mark Catlin added: “From our point of view, we understand the difficulties that there are going to be to get this season completed, but we feel we owe it to our supporters, staff and football, in general, to do everything that we can to achieve a result via what goes on, on the pitch.”