‘It bodes well’ – Exclusive: Kevin Phillips reveals West Brom boost after major PL development
We’re delighted to welcome former West Brom striker Kevin Phillips as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at The Hawthorns…
Kevin Phillips believes West Brom have been handed a boost to their hopes of completing the Championship season by playing out their matches.
The Express & Star reported earlier this week that the Baggies will vote to finish the currently-suspended 2019/20 campaign if Championship clubs hold a ballot.
If the season does end up getting cut short then, based on what the EFL have said, Albion will finish second in the Championship and win promotion to the Premier League based on the points-per-game system.
But it seems that West Brom would rather win promotion on the pitch than off it based on their reported stance and Phillips believes that the low number of positive coronavirus tests in the Premier League boosts the chances of the Championship being able to reach a conclusion too.
“It bodes well for the Championship but things could change very quickly,” Phillips told West Brom News.
“You would like to think that everything will be done in the right way and in the right manner, which will be with everyone being tested. We’re hoping that every club has a clean bill of health so we can get the football back quickly.
“As we’ve seen, there are three cases at Watford. What’s going to happen there now? Will the whole squad be able to train or will those three have to isolate and join in once they’ve recovered?
“It’s a tricky situation but it would be great if all the Championship players came back healthy and we can make a decision when they’re about to train.”
Earlier this week, six people tested positive for COVID-19 at three different clubs, including Watford player Adrian Mariappa and Burnley assistant manager Ian Woan.
On Saturday, a further two positive tests were confirmed after 996 players and staff were tested.
They are very low numbers and it definitely shows that football can return in a manageable way, which is just what West Brom want.
In other West Brom news, Albion are to be handed a potentially huge boost in their bid to sign Matheus Pereira permanently.
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