'It was unprofessional': Boss of Sunderland's rivals slams the EFL following League One curtailment

Tranmere Rovers manager Micky Mellon has slammed the ‘unprofessional’ nature of the EFL after the League One season was curtailed.
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Clubs voted earlier this month to end the 2019/20 campaign with immediate effect, seeing Sunderland and fellow promotion hopefuls Peterborough excluded from the play-offs.

And at the other end of the table, it sentenced Tranmere – who were three points adrift of safety with a game in hand – to relegation to League Two.

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The club are considering legal action against the EFL, and manager Mellon has now criticised the ‘unorganised’ approach to deciding the fate of the season.

Tranmere boss Micky MellonTranmere boss Micky Mellon
Tranmere boss Micky Mellon

"I can't say that I blame any other team," he said, speaking to Sky Sports.

"What was decided, was decided. I don't think there is a football person who would say that what has happened to Tranmere is fair. It is absolutely not fair.

"We are disappointed with the whole way that the EFL handled it. I think it was unprofessional, I think it was unorganised, I think there was a complete lack of communication between them, all the managers, all the clubs and all the players.

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“There's so much that needs to be improved. In any leadership role, you are asked to speak about the 'what ifs'. Anybody on that committee must have spoken about 'what if' the league season cannot get finished. If that's what they are there to do and they didn't do it, they never did their jobs properly.

“They put it in the hands of the football clubs and of course, turkeys won't vote for Christmas. If I was in the same position as the clubs above me and I was given the same opportunity to stay in the league, then trust me I would have voted the same. But I just think the leadership from the top was poor."

Tranmere have already made 22 members of staff redundant following their relegation to League Two, with Mellon’s analyst, first team coach and goalkeeping coach among those to depart.