The Championship, and its discussions around the next steps towards re-starting, or curtailing, the season had been somewhat laissez faire compared with other divisions.

In the Premier League we’ve heard of a neutral grounds plan, since fallen by the wayside, the possibility of no relegation, also thought to have been raised among League Two clubs, and the prospect of a points-per-game, weighted or otherwise, system to conclude the finishing spots of each side.

High-profile players such Watford captain Troy Deeney, England international Danny Rose and Raheem Sterling, of Manchester City, have all raised individual concerns around the return to training which was given the green light by the Premier League.

In League One things have been even more fractious, Accrington Stanley have gone ‘in to hibernation’ in the words of owner Andy Holt who is looking at the practicalities, and cost, of re-starting the season, and concluded that most, if not all, third tier clubs would put themselves under extreme financial strain given the lack of gate revenue.

Rotherham chairman Tony Stewart then referred to ‘the magic six’ (Oxford, Fleetwood, Peterborough, Sunderland, Ipswich and Portsmouth) pushing for the season to resume in their bid to win promotion. Could the play-offs still take place, or even extended to six or eight teams? At the bottom, Tranmere are launching a staunch defence of their entitlement to stay in the division.

But cracks have started to appear in the Championship, despite the EFL last week stating teams had ‘indicated that it is their wish to play on and conclude the season’ and Sheffield Wednesday manager Garry Monk saying second tier bosses were ‘all in agreeance’ about playing the final nine games.

Sinc then, Hull City vice chairman Ehab Allam has written to the EFL to state that this season should be voided, and all efforts focused on ensuring a safe 2020/21 campaign.

That instantly brought cynicism, given Hull have lost nine of their last 11 games, slipping to fourth bottom of the division and being without a win since New Year’s Day.

Then, Barnsley stated their case, through a piece in The Athletic, that it was considering legal action against the EFL if they are relegated from the Championship, but Birmingham City, Derby County or Sheffield Wednesday start next season on minus points.

Derby and Sheffield Wednesday face independent disciplinary hearings with regards to alleged financial irregularities over the sale of their stadiums, while the EFL has appealed a decision to clear Birmingham over alleged breaches of FFP rules.

Again, the cynicism around Barnsley’s stance, but it’s hardly unsurprising given the self-indulgent stance that many clubs will understandably have, and why it was so refreshing to see Port Vale, eighth in League Two and one point off the play-offs, last week vote in favour of the greater good of the league to void the season.

Millwall too have since outlined a plan that would see the three teams promoted to the Premier League, and bagging the riches associated with that, cover the £200,000 cost that each team will need to fork out to cover the necessary amounts of coronavirus tests.

The Lions, eighth in the table and two points outside the top six, have a favourable run in and themselves will be eyeing a historic promotion after an excellent run of form under Gary Rowett.

With money comes questions, can clubs afford to re-start, but equally can they afford not to? Everyone wants the riches of the Premier League, the pot of gold at the end of the Championship rainbow, and are willing to do so at all costs, given the levels of spending we’ve seen.

There are still 108 games left to play in the Championship.  Right now, anyone down to QPR in 13th, six points off the play-offs will think they have a realistic, or at least outside, chance of promotion.

That leaves Reading, Sheffield Wednesday and Birmingham safe in mid-table, though the latter two could still face points deductions, and the other eight teams battling against, or still needing points to stave off, relegation.

Many teams' season will be defined by what happens in the last nine games, but after three months without playing, and the issues teams will face upon restarting, how easy will it be to uphold the much-coveted sporting integrity?

The unpredictability of the Championship is what makes it one of the most watched, and entertaining, divisions around.

So supposed freak results can be seen every week. But under these circumstances, should matches resume, you’d be particularly brave to try and predict each result.

As the 108 games whittle down, and teams become safe from relegation, and promotion hopes dwindle, it's more likely that attitudes of teams will change.

Yes we see players rested towards the end of the season (we all recall Huddersfield Town on the penultimate game of the 2017/18 season), youngsters given a go, but could we see that introduced much earlier given the risks that will still be presented to clubs?

We’ve already seen the issue of contracts raised, and if the season does go beyond July 31, could teams suddenly find themselves at odds with members of their squad whose deals are coming to an end?

Injuries happen, and illness can spread through training grounds at pace, we’ve seen it before, but what about the threat of coronavirus should one member of the squad test positive?

Can sporting integrity still be upheld in this way? Could playing on cause more issues than simply ending the season now?

Teams will be promoted, or relegated, based upon what has happened across the whole 46-game season. But the final nine games will undoubtedly have a unique look to them, not least because of the break in action, and therefore a big say in what is to be decided.

We'll leave the final words to Tony Mowbray who said: “How quickly are we going to be able to get up to speed? Are we going to be judged unfairly because the team you’ve not been able to get them to the level you would have wanted because you haven’t been given time?

“Are the teams when it returns going to be so different to how they’ve been in the first 37 games? There might be injuries, some players who might not want to play, three games a week for two or three weeks on the bounce it will be pretty intense.

“What are the teams going to look like, will it be fair for the season to be judged on these nine games? I don’t know. I would hope that we’re going to come and be full of energy, drive and commitment.”

If you don't start fast, you'll falter.