West Ham and five other Premier League clubs could pressure players to refuse to play in Operation Restart – report

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West Ham United are one of five Premier League clubs who could pressure players NOT to play under plans to resume the season.

That is according to a report overnight from The Telegraph.

Premier League clubs have been in discussions over Project Restart with plans to resume the season behind closed doors.

A date of on or after June 8th has been mooted (Sky Sports).

Brady makes West Ham position clear over Project Restart plans

It would mean West Ham resuming their battle for survival with no fans and possibly no home advantage either with clubs set to play in eight-10 neutral venues – although one of those could be the London Stadium.

West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady has made it clear she is not a fan of the neutral venue plan (The Sun).

Now The Telegraph claims West Ham and the other five clubs in the bottom six could pressure players to refuse to play under the current terms.

“Agents of Premier League players expect some clubs to launch campaigns to discourage them from returning ­under the terms of Project Restart,” The Telegraph claims.

West Ham and five other Prem clubs could pressure players NOT to play

“The bottom six are opposed to using neutral venues for the remaining games of the season and there are fears they will apply pressure on squads to refuse to play. Paul Barber, the Brighton and Hove Albion chief executive, has gone on the record to say it would damage the integrity of the competition.

“Representatives of top-flight players are braced for clubs to push forward their view on to players that home advantage should not be forfeited for the final games of 2019-20, in the hope they will adopt their employers’ stance.

“Players have been advised to make their own decisions on the safety and fairness of resuming, but are aware failing to finish the season and a drop in TV will lead to calls for wage cuts.”

There have been conflicting messages coming out of West Ham over the resuming the season.

Mixed messages coming out of West Ham

Brady made her stance clear by becoming the first club official to break ranks and comment publicly after the enforced shutdown.

She told The Sun the season should be declared null and void. That reportedly got her in hot water with her boss David Sullivan (The Daily Mail) and Brady later backtracked.

Now Brady has told The Sun that West Ham and the other 19 Premier League clubs are committed to resuming the season.

And she has even laid out West Ham’s phased plan to return to training and matches (The Sun).

Whatever happens it seems Hammers captain Mark Noble will be key.

The Daily Mail claims the West Ham skipper is one of the leading figures in fielding concerns from his fellow Premier League stars over football’s return.