PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor has dismissed Steve Waggott’s proposal that Financial Fair Plays rules should be relaxed for this season.

The Rovers CEO felt there should be a grace period for the 2019/20 campaign to allow owners to invest the necessary amounts of funding needed to see clubs through the financial uncertainty the COVID-19 has placed on clubs.

Under current rules, Championship clubs are bound by FFP and the profit and sustainability model that restricts the level of investment that can be made by owners, with losses of up to £39m able to be recorded across a three year period.

Waggott had hoped that three-year period wouldn’t include 2019/20, to allow losses to be covered by investment, but Taylor doesn’t see that as a viable option, instead feeling it would be a way of clubs using the current situation to their advantage.

“It’s not a time to be relaxing regulations on financial propriety when we have already had problems with Football League clubs such as Bury,” said Taylor, who played for Rovers between 1976 and 1978.

“If a club is doing deferrals then the regulations state that they would be embargoed from signing any players.

“It’s ridiculous to have clubs deferring their obligations to players and then making big-money transfer signings.

“Also the football creditor rule must remain in existence rather than have clubs build up debts, many of which would be to the players, and then write those off, and look to reform again. So there are lots of situations we need to be protected from in order to hold things together.”

Rovers haven’t ruled out the players being asked to defer wages, with Waggott saying the squad aren’t exempt from any possible cost-cutting measures.

A number of clubs have taken advantage of the Government’s job retention scheme, brought in to help businesses deal with the financial effects of the coronavirus, with Premier League sides Tottenham and Newcastle having placed all non-playing staff on furlough.

That means 80 per cent of their wages will be funded by the Government, a decision which has drawn criticism, given playing staff would continue to be paid in full.

Championship leaders Leeds United and play-off hopefuls Brentford have struck an agreement for players to defer their wages for the foreseeable future, but Taylor insists he would like to see a uniform decision taken across all leagues.

Taylor concedes division-by-division agreement may not be possible, but he suggested a task force could assess deferrals at clubs on a case-by-case basis. However, the union is keen to avoid a situation where clubs defer payments to players on hardship grounds but then move into the transfer market.

“We feel it’s much better if we have a task force, and that we look at particular clubs in particular divisions through that means in order to justify things to the players," he added.

“The meetings have been to look at is all the financial data from clubs in their respective leagues and then to have a structure in place to deal with those clubs who are most in need.

“But it’s about trying to avoid clubs doing their own thing without any particular structure or guidance so that you end up with players at one club envious of players at another.”

India, home to Rovers’ owners Venky’s, is currently in the middle of a 21-day lockdown which has placed a financial pressure on their business, with share prices recently taking a nine per cent drop.

The Rao family remain committed to funding the club it bought in November 2010, but Waggott admits the club could take steps to help ease the burden on the owners, and had called for a grace period on the financial rulings.

He said: “My view is that FFP and profit and sustainability model shouldn’t be applied this season because of the additional funding that may be required from owners that are needed by clubs.

“From my point of view we could potentially not take this season in to account, press the reset button from next season and start again.”

Clubs’ revenue streams will be hit by the current postponements of games, with the earmarked re-start date of April 30 likely to pushed back by the EFL.

There is an intention from all parties to conclude the 2019/20 season where possible, but Taylor admits the option of doing so behind closed doors isn’t without problems.

“Even playing behind closed doors can take resources away from the NHS which has to be the utmost priority," Taylor explained. That again is not a favoured option.

I don’t think that’s a favoured option of anybody.”