Premier League bosses face a losing battle to save the season in a coming week that promises to define the immediate future of top level football.
League bosses will hold a video-conference call with all 20 clubs on Monday to hold further talks about how to get the campaign started again in the wake of Covid-19.
Football has been suspended since March 13 due to the on-going pandemic - and will not resume until the Government gives it the green light to do so.
But with Prime Minister Boris Johnson still determined to ban social gatherings until further notice, it means group training at clubs remains impossible, leaving the genuine prospect of returning to matches in June as distant as ever.