QPR CEO Lee Hoos has hit out at the decision to bring the Championship back on the 20th of June, suggesting the club are "vehemently opposed" and revealing concerns over the preparations of the players.
It has been nearly three months since the English football season was put on hold but last night the EFL announced the 20th of June as a provisional restart date for the Championship.
Sides in the division returned to training for the first time since the start of the delay last week and have been allowed to return to full-contact training today.
The EFL's latest announcement means that clubs now have 19 days to prepare for their first game back and, speaking to the club website, Hoos revealed that he and a number of other key QPR figures had an issue over the timeline.
He said: “I am absolutely stunned by this announcement, as is our Director of Football Les Ferdinand and our manager Mark Warburton.
“Incredibly, there has been absolutely no consultation with individual clubs nor with the Championship doctors' working group by the divisional representatives - or anyone else in the Football League – regarding this matter.
“On top of that, we were only made aware of the statement 40 minutes before it was made public.
“Having spoken with Les and Mark, they share my views. We are vehemently opposed to this schedule.
“The players haven’t even returned to full-contact training at this moment and yet they are now expected to be in a position to play at a competitive level in just three weeks’ time.
Hoos added that his stance was shared by a number of key figures at other clubs in the division.
He said: “I have made our feelings known to the EFL and, having spoken with a number of CEOs at other Championship clubs, I am not a lone voice on this matter.
“We are absolutely appalled.”
Mark Warburton's side will know that they will have to hit the ground running if they're to have any chance of making the play-offs this season.
QPR are 13th as things stand and six points away from the top six, with nine games remaining of the season.
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The Verdict
As exciting as the return of the Championship season is, Hoos does make a fairly strong point about the timeline of – players will have had just four weeks back training after a delay that lasted nearly two months.
That said, compromises were always going to have to be made to get the season finished in a short time-frame.
Hoos has revealed that a number of other club CEOs feel the same, it will be interesting to see whether any of them speak up.