West Ham and every other club in the country are hoping and praying that despite previous U turns on lockdown and restrictions, the new Freedom Day of July 19 actually happens.

Prime Minister Johnson’s declaration that he is confident nothing will get in the way of the return to normality is good news but of course we have been here before.

And with chief medical man Chris Whitty regularly claiming a third wave is on the way it seems that guarantees remain pretty fragile.

The game has taken such a massive hit from covid 19 that July 19 is now of incredibly importance and,with the new season starting only just over three weeks later, clubs simply cannot imagine the idea of the date again being pushed back towards or into the new season.

One source inside West Ham explained: “The idea of again performing in empty or only part filled stadium remains a nightmare.

Given the past U turns we can take nothing for granted – there are always going to be variants and we surely have to reach a point where we have to accept them. July 19 could hardly be more important.

We have already had a month’s delay from June so it’s difficult to plan ahead with any certainty.”