Aberdeen defender Devlin cannot see season finishing

Aberdeen defender Mikey Devlin says he and his team-mates are struggling to see how the current season can reach a conclusion.

The centre-back and his Dons colleagues had already travelled to face Motherwell on March 13 when Scottish football was halted because of the coronavirus crisis.

Aberdeen were looking to leapfrog Well into third place in the Premiership that day but Devlin now fears that chance might have gone completely.

UEFA wants domestic leagues completed by June 30 but that scenario looks increasingly unlikely after Scotland’s chief medical officer, Catherine Calderwood, predicted restrictions on movement will be needed for “at least 13 weeks”.

Devlin feels there will be too many complications in trying to resume the season at a later date.

The Scotland international told his club’s in-house TV channel: “We as footballers would always rather finish the season.

“Certainly from an Aberdeen perspective, we have got third place, or we had third place, to chase.

“If the league were to stop we relinquish our ability to change our position.

“But there is no outcome that pleases everybody. Everyone has to understand that, no matter what happens here, someone will feel hard done by.

“The overwhelming feeling, from my understanding, it’s very difficult to see how the league will continue without disrupting next season.”

Devlin’s comments come as clubs up and down the country deal with the financial ramifications of their match-day revenue stream disappearing.

Hibs owner Ron Gordon last week admitted the coronavirus outbreak had put the club “under the most severe strain and threat” and warned of “difficult decisions” ahead.

Scotland’s league clubs held talks on Friday over how to negotiate the financial crisis and deal with players’ wages and contracts.

Hearts are among the clubs to have asked players to take a pay cut – 50 per cent in their case – and they admitted this weekend that they were keeping the option of suspending contracts on the table “on the advice of the SPFL and its legal advisors”.