Brentford manager Thomas Frank has called for the upcoming round of Premier League fixtures to be postponed to allow clubs to deal with coronavirus outbreaks.
Frank saw his side’s clash with Manchester United go under on Tuesday as the country deals with the Omicron variant, with Burnley ’s match with Watford on Wednesday becoming the third Premier League fixture in a week to be called off - just two hours before kick-off.
Frank and the Bees have Covid issues of their own to deal with ahead of a Saturday trip to Southampton with 13 members of the playing and coaching staff having tested positive - something Frank only learned in full during his Thursday morning press conference when he took a phone call from the club's co-director of football, Phil Giles.
Now the Dane would like to see a break in play to help manage the situation across the league, and has also called for next week's Carabao Cup quarter-final with Chelsea to be pushed back also.
"We think we should postpone the full round of Premier League games this weekend," he said on Thursday morning.
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"Covid cases are going through the roof at all Premier League clubs, everyone is dealing with it and having problems.
"To postpone this round and also the Carabao Cup round would give everyone a week at least, or four or five days to clean and do everything at the training ground so everything is clean and you break the chain."
Brentford's boss feels that by halting the Premier League's fixtures temporarily as soon as possible, the better chance of the traditional Boxing day fixtures going ahead unimpacted by the virus.
"You would break the chain at every club – because in football you need to have close contact," Frank added.
"Physios do their job in treatment, we travel by coaches, we are in a dressing room on matchdays.
"It is more difficult to work from home. Of course we want to play and carry on, it is important for football to carry on.
"But this way we can have Boxing Day going ahead, I am 100 per cent sure of that. We think that would be very sensible.
"We as a club have been in regular contact with the Premier League over the last couple of days."
Tottenham Hotspur are still reeling from a recent Covid-outbreak but are expected to make the trip to Leicester City on Thursday night as planned.
Spurs boss Antonio Conte has conceded he is worried the impact the virus could have on his players, revealing: "The way Covid affects your body, we have to pay great attention.
"Nobody knows the time the player needs to recover and be 100 per cent. This is true for the whole world, not just for Tottenham.
"But when you have a squad of 20 players and nine are with Covid, it’s normal that I am a bit worried.
"The players who are back in training need time to be fit and to find again. Many times with this virus you make your body not so strong and for this reason you have to go slowly."
