Patrick Bamford braced for empty stadiums but with Leeds United still ending in promised land

Championship front-runners Leeds have seen their promotion charge halted due to the global battle against coronavirus which currently has the EFL season suspended with nine games left.

The EFL are still hoping to complete all of their remaining fixtures within a 56-day period in the summer months, working on the assumption that matches would be played behind closed doors.

It means Bamford is already anticipating the unusual concept of playing in front of empty stands but the Whites striker is thinking of the bigger picture of public health and then the ultimate goal of promotion - however it is achieved.

Asked if he was anticipating playing in empty stadium in an interview with LUTV, Bamford admitted: "I think so.

"In terms of safety and the general health of the population then I think probably playing behind closed doors is what is going to happen.

"It's going to be weird, it's probably not ideal for fans and it would probably be quite strange to get promoted if we did it in front of an empty stadium so that would be weird.

"But in the long term, we would still be getting promoted and we are also keeping the population safe.

"There is going to be discussions about that I am sure but I am sure they will make the right decisions."

Reflecting on how the present times could change the outlook of football players in general, Bamford reasoned: “I think not just the players, I think that fans will start to realise as well that there is more to life than just football.

“As much as everyone loves football and as much as it plays a big part in a lot of people’s lives, I think this whole kind of scenario and the virus doing what it has done to the world, I feel like it has made people realise that there are other things that they need to rely on other sport.

“It’s probably going to end up bringing people closer together as a population, hopefully anyway.

"One of my best friends who I went to school with is a doctor and he has had to be relocated on to specific coronavirus wards so I've seen it pretty much first hand as well what the situation is.

"I'm proud of him but proud of everyone and it's quite fascinating the amount of people you can hear getting out at the same time to clap and just show their appreciation really. It is nice."

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