'No kind of integrity' in finishing the season, slams Wigan Athletic boss

The top flight resumed on Wednesday after a three-month lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic, while the second tier gets back way under this weekend.

And although Cook will be doing everything he can to ensure Latics do enough in the last nine matches to remain in the Championship, he is adamant it shouldn't have come to this.

A number of players - at clubs such as Charlton, Hull and Bournemouth - have already said they will be boycotting the run-in, as they are not contracted beyond June 30.

And when asked directly whether there was a problem with the integrity of the competition, Cook did not hold back.

"I've always felt that, and I've brought it up in managers' zoom meetings," he said.

"I just don't feel the season will be finished with any kind of integrity whatsoever, I've got to say that.

"I feel the season will be finished because the Premier League has demanded we finish it - and that's the brutal truth.

"Money and finance are driving the game into areas that, in my opinion, it's not correct.

"Look at someone like Lyle Taylor, who it's been well publicised is not going to have a future at Charlton.

"I think the boy has been very brave to come out and speak how he did, and say exactly what he felt.

"The usual thing to do is for players to feign an injury, or pretend to be sick.

"In this case, honesty is the way forward - albeit some people won't agree with him.

"You've just got to try and put yourself into the positions of some players.

"With no disrespect to Charlton, Lyle has been their star striker...and I feel so sorry for them.

"The integrity issue is just not correct, it's just not there.

"We've also seen at Hull this week, there's four or five players who won't be playing again due to contractual disputes.

"Barnsley are not allowing a player who was on loan at Hull to finish the season...and if I'm Barnsley, I'm not letting him stay there either!

"But he was contracted to them until the end of the season, and it's not finished yet.

"Integrity is a word that should be associated with football.

"But with the contractual situations, there is no way we can finish this season with integrity.

"It's just impossible to do. But unfortunately we've been dragged along by the Premier League purely by finance.

"You've now got a situation where two divisions of the EFL are playing on, and one division is.

"I don't understand that and I don't grasp it...only I do grasp it, because I know why...and we've just got to get on with it!

"Some managers will be left extremely disappointed at the end of the season, because situations will have gone against them that won't look good.

"As managers, we're all aware that this situation is in front of us, and it is about to happen to someone.

"That is not good for football and it's not good for the integrity."