Portsmouth boss Kenny Jackett has a message for the EFL as Sunderland prepare to discover their promotion fate

With talks having dragged on for weeks over how, and indeed if, the third tier season will resume, the Black Cats will be provided with some much needed clarity after today’s EFL EGM – during which frameworks for deciding promotion and relegation will be decided.

It is then expected that a majority of League One clubs will vote to curtail the season, before the play-offs take place as normal. Coventry and Rotherham would be promoted automatically with Pompey, Wycombe, Oxford and Fleetwood competing for the final spot in the Championship.

And while a number of clubs – most notably Tranmere and Ipswich – have proposed solutions to end the campaign that would see the play-offs extended, with the likes of Sunderland and Peterborough included, Jackett believes that a more ‘black and white’ approach needs to be taken.

But above all, the Pompey boss hopes the decisions set to be taken today will ensure clubs remain intact ahead of the 2020/21 season.

“We stopped for good reason in mid-March and have remained that way for three months now,” said Jackett, speaking to Pompey’s official website.

“The season halted and you either have to take it as it was then or restart and finish things off – everything else is a shade of grey.

“There are other possibilities mentioned, but that makes it very difficult to work out and complicates things.

“I’m very much in the ‘black and white’ campaign of taking our position when things stopped or playing our remaining fixtures and determining the issues that way.

“That aside, we have a wonderful football system with some smashing clubs and the important thing is we have them all intact when next season starts.”

The meeting of EFL clubs will begin at 10:30am today and will be chaired by EFL chief Rick Parry. Clubs can attend virtually to vote, or vote via proxy.