Pep Clotet admits that Birmingham City’s home dominated run-in could work against his side as the Championship eyes a return to follow in the footsteps of the Premier League.
The EFL are expected to follow the top flight in the near future, after they confirmed on Thursday that June 17 had been pencilled in as a concrete return date.
Should the Championship get the green light, Blues will be able to complete their nine outstanding fixtures - five of which are at St Andrew’s.
While that would otherwise benefit Blues, who are now back training at Wast Hills, Clotet admits that the lack of atmosphere caused by the fact that games will be behind closed doors could actually end up being something of a hindrance.
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In the German Bundesliga, the first major league in Europe to resume, only five of the 27 matches played have been won by the home side, a significant reduction compared to results of games played in front of fans prior to lockdown.
“It goes a little bit against us, because we have more home games than away games. You’ve seen it in the Bundesliga - there’s no home factor,” Clotet told Blues TV.
“It might be more possible to get more points on the road, in this situation, but I know the players and I will miss the home support a lot.
“It has a big impact on the referee - they don’t have that stress over their decisions - and it has an impact on the players as well.
“The game physically has changed. We’re coming from a period of games that has been really long, and then to go back into games without friendlies, we’ve seen how it has affected the Bundesliga.
“It’ll feel like a different tournament, but obviously we’re picking up where we left off in the league.
“It’s like a new nine-game league, and it’s important to get as many points as possible from those.”
Clotet has been impressed with how his players have handled themselves during lockdown, too.
Like all professional clubs, the Blues squad were given individual training programmes to follow from their homes, and they appear to have had the desired effect.
“The players have made us proud by how they’ve come back from this period,” Clotet added. “They’ve come back in very good shape. Despite the circumstances, they’ve been taking care of themselves.
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“Now we’re back to start the work. They’ve done very well in maintaining their levels - for some, they’ve improved.
“We want this season finished; 2020 has been a good year for us. We’ve only lost two games and we want to take it back up from there.
“These players are desperate to get back. They’re very ambitious and they want to get as many points as possible.”
