Steve Evans has given KSN his reaction to one of his former employer’s comments that he would be “amazed” if League One wasn’t cancelled this week… and reiterated his opinion that if the Gills are to finish their season, it has to be under the same rules as which they started.

Before any League meetings this week, the Rotherham Chairman, Tony Stewart, expressed his views that he would be “amazed” if League One and Two would be played to a conclusion.

The Gills boss said, “He’s a man I speak very regularly too – he’s a good man; he’s a very wealthy man who’s self-made and started without a penny back in the day as an electrician; he’s a good man; he’s knowledgeable.”

“He thinks that the season will be finished, but I also read his words that he thought that they should be promoted. I can’t get involved in that, but if I was sitting as his manager which I was for three and a half years, I’m sure I would be saying the same thing.”

“My views are let’s get an agreement in place whether we’re going back or not and if we’re not, let the debates happen with the owners. But if we are, let’s get back to training and playing football as quickly as we can.”

“I was speaking to someone who’s very close to Mark Robbins at Coventry, who are top of the league and a great team, and it’s a great job that Mark has done this season. But they’re on about needing four weeks preparation to be ready to play – we’ll never play football if that’s the case!” exclaimed the Gills boss.

“There will be people going down with aches and strains and viruses and different things. Let’s go back to a couple of weeks and let’s play if the medical staff and medical people tell us that it’s safe to do so. Let’s get things under way and let’s get the season done. It will have to be done – you have the Football League chairmen speaking to the Government – it has to be concluded by the end of July and has to be finished!”

There has been speculation that if the Premier League do restart, there will be no relegation – a view that the Gills boss is completely against as he told us. “If you listen to Greg Clarke of the Football Association, he made it clear to the Premier League – made it abundantly clear – that if you start playing football there will be relegation; simple!”

“Yes, we expect Liverpool to be Champions, there will be European places but there will be relegation. The EFL cannot start with promotion without relegation – how can you have three teams go up from League One into the Championship and no-one comes down and four go up from League Two and no-one goes down – how can you have that? It’s nonsense!”

“It’s just total nonsense! I think the games would become a farce – if there’s meaningless games happening it will become a farce!”

“My view is that I really, really hope that we can find a way to go back and restart the season to finish the season – we have to almost go back and say that we halted when we were supposed to be at home to Fleetwood – we halted that week and so that will be our first fixture, Fleetwood at home, we start, we get on with it.”

“We all play our remaining games into the Play Offs. They may shorten them down to one game, neutral venue, the team finishing higher plays at home, but for the integrity of the competition there has to be promotion and relegation otherwise it is a farce!”

“And if people are talking about integrity, you cannot ask teams to be playing football with no threats of relegation – it’s a farce, it really is!”