Nottingham Forest defender Joe Worrall admits it would be “a strange feeling” to be fighting for promotion without the backing of the Reds faithful.
It is the reality Sabri Lamouchi’s side are likely to face, however, when football does eventually return.
English Football League chairman Rick Parry yesterday said in an open letter to fans that games are “likely” to take place behind closed doors when the campaign resumes.
The coronavirus crisis has left the Championship season suspended with Forest in fifth place with nine matches remaining.
And while accepting it wouldn’t be the same without supporters packing into the City Ground, Worrall says it is nevertheless preferable to completely writing the campaign off.
“It would be strange, really strange,” he told the BBC, speaking before Parry’s statement.
“When you play for the Under-23s at the City Ground and there’s 50 people there, when you kick the ball, it echoes around the stadium. It’s a strange feeling.
“You could play anywhere in any stadium, if it’s empty it’s a surreal feeling.
“But at the end of the day, I’d take that every single day of the week over them null and voiding the season.
“I’d play in a park in the centre of Nottingham! I don’t care where we play, as long as it gets finished.
“I’d play in my back garden to get it finished! It just needs to be completed. It doesn’t matter whether it’s behind closed doors or not.
“But the concept of it, yes, it’s certainly strange that there’d be no fans or stewards to look after the fans or just the whole buzz around stadiums - especially the City Ground. We know what it’s like when it’s packed.
“I can remember the Leeds game (a 2-0 win in February) that’s just passed; if that had been played in an empty stadium, the result would 100 percent have been different.
“It’s going to play a big part in some games and some results, if we play behind closed doors.
“It will be interesting to see if different teams adapt to it and come up with a way of winning or nicking a draw; damage limitation playing in front of no fans.
“It will be strange for everyone involved - knowing that Forest are playing but you can’t go watch them. It would be weird.
“But to get the season finished is a must.”
With the Reds in the play-off spots, it could mean the prospect of playing in front of an empty Wembley Stadium, should they reach the final.
“Could you imagine the scene - one game to go and you need to win the game, you’re walking out to Mull of Kintyre but no-one’s singing it,” Worrall said.
“Wembley - an 88,000-seater stadium with no-one in it, it would be really strange.
“I’ve not really thought about it, to be perfectly honest; about what it would actually be like to play in a professional game where it means so much. We’re fighting at the top of the table, so it means that little bit more.
“It would be such a strange feeling, walking out with no fans and knowing that the three points could ultimately get you playing in the Premier League against the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Man U and Man City.
“It’s really strange to think about.”
