Shrewsbury Town boss Sam Ricketts not sold on empty stadiums

Ricketts is the latest connected with the club after chief executive Brian Caldwell and the supporters' parliament to speak against the EFL's current tentative plans to play without supporters in stadiums from June.

The Salop boss backed the notion that football will not be the same played in front of empty stadiums across the country and will feel 'eerie' as the sport attempts to get on its feet after the coronavirus lockdown is lifted.

"It's not ideal, is it?" Ricketts said on the prospect of playing behind closed doors.

"We all enjoy going to a game and players love playing in front of an audience as much as supporters like to come and watch the game.

"It goes hand in hand, without the supporters football isn't what it is.

"If you had a choice you'd always play in front of supporters, I've played at grounds in behind-closed-doors games and it's a very eerie feeling with no-one in the stadium.

"It's just not the same, not the same intensity and tempo, it's very friendly-like, or a testimonial.

"I've never played a competitive game behind closed doors but I can imagine it'd be very similar. It would take away the element of why everyone starts playing football."

Ricketts, whose side have 10 League One fixtures remaining to complete, understands that health and safety remains the priority during the crisis, but adds that the 'distraction' of football is important to its followers.

"You prioritise what is most important now and that is everyone's health and safety but it's equally important for people in general to have a distraction from that," the Welshman said.

"Football is people's distraction. In normal life it's a distraction from work and everything else to come and watch your team play.

"I really want to take that next step forward which I certainly know we're capable of doing, it's just getting everything in place."