Leeds United's Adam Forshaw explains why Elland Road cleaners helped motivate wage deferral decision

But their own financial security and the club's ability to keep paying wages was also in their thinking when they, along with senior management and the coaching staff, took the deferral decision last week.

According to Forshaw, the players knew it was a likely outcome of the fixture suspension brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

He believes it was the right course of action to prevent a scenario where, in the event that the suspension lasts a number of months, the club couldn't pay any wages at all.

"I think we knew it was probably going to come at some point," he said, speaking on TalkSport.

"The club spoke to us in the middle of last week.

"I think ultimately it helps them and it stops it becoming even more of a problem in a couple of months time.

"It's the right thing to do. I think as players it probably does come as a little bit of a shock to you and like anybody you get accustomed to your own lifestyles.

"The club make a lot of money from home games. We sell out pretty much every home game. To not even just have that alone and the fact that the club shops around the city have closed.

"It's a lot of revenue that they're missing. As players you've got to think long-term. It's just the right thing to do.

"We're in privileged positions as footballers. Looking at the long-term nobody knows how long this is going to last.

"Us as players as well probably didn't want to get to a point in two or three months where you don't get paid at all.

"To take these measures now is probably a sensible thing to do at the moment."

Leeds said the players' decision meant the club could continue to pay all 272 members of full-time staff and the majority of casual staff for the coming months and Forshaw said the lives of people working at Elland Road were a motivating factor in putting side before self.

"It goes beyond football, it's people's lives," he said.

"People working down at the stadium like the cleaners.

"We're in a privileged position and we've got to look past ourselves at the moment and think everyone has to pull together."