Peterborough United’s Barry Fry refuses to believe EFL clubs will vote to declare the League One season null and reveals the Posh budget for the 2019-20 promotion push is the ‘biggest in the club’s history’

Fry, who was speaking on Posh chairman Darragh MacAnthony’s ‘Hard Truth’ podcast, was exasperated by a report yesterday (May 8) claiming EFL clubs would determine the winners of promotion without playing any more matches. It was suggested the current top three Coventry, Rotherham and Oxford would be promoted using a ‘weighted points-per-game’ formula, one that see Posh finish fifth, but with no escape route through the play-offs.

Posh are currently sixth, but close enough to the top two, and with a favourable run-in, to feel confident of securing automatic promotion and making what Fry called the ‘biggest budget in Posh history’ worthwhile.

Fry said: “We can’t give in. EFL clubs should be sticking together and making sure we finish what we started and determine promotions and relegations on the field.

“I can’t believe clubs will vote for what I’ve heard about today (May 8). I speak to load of managers, owners and club officials and 9/10ths of them tell me they want the season to finish.

“In our case our owners got together last summer and put together the biggest budget in the club’s history. We had one aim and that was to win promotion and we are on track to do that with nine matches to go.

“To have the chance to fulfil that ambition snatched away because some clubs don’t want to play any more would be a disgrace. It would also be a disgrace if the Championship is allowed to finish, but Leagues One and Two are called off.

“I know the Championship clubs fancy the £160 million they can make from reaching the Premier League, promotions are just as important to clubs in the lower divisions.

“If it does happen I can see many writs and many rich lawyers. You can’t just change the goalposts when four fifths of the season has been played.”