Winkelman will review player wage deferral monthly

MK Dons chairman Pete Winkelman will continue to monitor the situation for May's payroll after his players agreed a 25 per cent wage deferral for this month.Winkelman said the way the coronavirus pandemic changes the landscape from day-to-day means there is no way to plan for the long term. Instead, he admits decisions for the future of the club and the rest of his businesses have to be made on a much shorter term.

"None of us know what the future is," he said. "We now know what we need to know for April payroll. Let's see where we are in four weeks. We might have an idea then of when we can come back to football again.

"For May's wages, we will have the discussion again. But I know the players will listen to what I have to say, because they have. Players are human, they are real, they interact with the rest of the staff here too and for them it matters. And that matters to me."

Winkelman praised the universal agreement from the players to defer their wages, adding: "There are players who I spoke to during the crisis, but I wouldn't have asked the players to do anything unilaterally. I don't think they could. If someone up the road was not getting a deferral, they'd ask me why.

"Once the PFA said this was a reasonable thing to ask the players whether they were up for it, I was able to ask them. And within 24 hours, it was signed, with all the paperwork back. I won't let any of those players down. I believe they've shown solidarity. "