Gillingham manager Steve Evans is among those predicting a supporter lockout for the rest of the year - if football does resume.

Football authorities are hoping to restart the season in June but games, at least initially, would be played behind closed doors. That could last until 2021.

Fans will have to make do with watching football on TV, or the internet, with live streaming of matches.

Evans, who now believes it might be best for football to go into hibernation, said: “I personally don’t think we will see fans in the ground until 2021, which could be three or four months into the new season.

It’s the view of the club chairman too.

Paul Scally said: “There are many issues that need to be resolved first, not least player safety. We talk about playing games behind closed doors but has anyone taken into account the players?

“They have family, loved ones, potentially elderly parents who might be at risk. Do they want to put themselves in a position where they could potentially catch the virus? Of course they wouldn’t. There are many issues to be determined.”

EFL chairman Rick Parry gave evidence to the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee this week about the impact of coronavirus and said that “for many clubs it would actually cost them to play” if games are behind closed doors.

With no fans inside the stadium, the Gills would see their income drastically reduced. Season ticket sales are a major part of their summer income. They would also lose other matchday revenue and Evans accepts they would be running on a lower budget because of it.

He said: “There is going to be less money around because when we do start the next season I don’t think there will be fans in the ground.

“We are fortunate that we have a chairman who is not silly, we only have eight or nine players who will be on contract beyond the end of June. Others of course are talking to the chief executive now or their representatives but it is a very difficult time for every club, difficult to forecast and the club must always act in the best interest of the club.”

The Gills won’t want to be handing out deals now if they might not be playing again until September. Mr Parry has said this season must be completed by the end of July, if at all.

Player contracts expire at the end of June but could be valid in July as they are usually covered by an extra month’s pay-off.

Several clubs have already said players will be leaving, however, with League 2 Colchester United releasing their top-earners after being unable to commit to new deals.

Evans said: “We have a number of players out of contract, a number of players who can automatically renew and the minute we make an offer they would be subject to compensation if they moved elsewhere, but at the same token the chairman has to get a real handle on when we will start playing football again because the minute they sign a contract they get paid.

“It is a big cost if you are signing players and paying them in July, August and September and you are not playing football.

“The sooner we are playing football and the conditions we are playing football in, as soon as we know, it will tell us a lot more about what we need to do.”

The lack of cash doesn’t mean Evans will be reliant on using youth players, however. Senior players across the board will be forced to lower their demands, as clubs throughout the country see any cash reserves disappear.

“Senior players would take less because every club would be operating less,” Evans said.

“Our young players at that level don’t affect the big picture at all, really.”

The Gills would usually have already announced which young players are getting deals but that has been on told too.

“There won’t be lots of them getting contracts,” said the Gills boss.

“There will be one definite and one other we are discussing and that is because we don’t run an under-23 squad.

“Our younger players will only come in where we can be assured that we will put them on loan somewhere where they can develop with people we know or they are coming [into the first team squad].

“We can’t have four or five lads because we feel sorry for them. That is in our budget and every time I have looked at it I have thought, ‘they are not going to play’.

“Sentiment does not play a part in football, never does, never will, and the higher up the tree you go it is even more ruthless. We cannot have a feel sorry culture and pay out money on players that we are pretty damn sure won’t be developed into League 1 players.”

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