“We are sat on a volcano and it is mild at the moment, but it could erupt. Because month on month, people have commitments and salaries to pay and are struggling through lack of income." Stewart said.
“There’s quite a few clubs which will go into administration through no fault of their own. We all know that football clubs take it to the wire. It is very few and far between that clubs make money in League One or League Two."
“It is down to the charity and goodwill of the sponsors, fans and the board of directors. It is not a Premier League run organisation and never had the funding. The higher you get up the leagues, it becomes a casino more than a game of chance.”
“In business terms, there are two ways to address mounting debt, One is to reduce overall costs or a kind ‘fairy’ from the EFL comes along and says: ‘here’s half a million to bridge that gap’."
“But the type of funding that is coming over is more of a loan or future payments. So what we are doing is getting the money from yesteryear up front today and we have mounting debts going forward. I think the politicians call it kicking the can down the road."
“I think you have got to treat every club in League Two and League One with the same proposal. With the furlough situation with the government, they have not discriminated between anybody."
“In football, the problem is that the fixed cost are the players. The PFA are digging in deep and saying: ‘no, they are under contract.’ They are even struggling to allow deferred payments. That is again kicking the can down the road as it means not that you won’t pay, but that you won’t pay yet. It is a future debt."
“What is the answer? If the climate stays as it is, the only way that the League One and League Two clubs can manage the situation going forward is getting its debt to come down.
“I have mentioned that if income comes in to meet that debt, you are fine. But if it doesn’t come in, then the big overhead which are the players has to be dramatically reduced.”