Alan Shearer believes football could emerge very differently with the coronavirus set to change the landscape of the game.

The Premier League and EFL took the decision last week to suspend games indefinitely, with the previous resumption date of April 30 pushed back. A number of top flight and EFL clubs have already taken the decision to furlough non-playing staff, with some even going further in a bid to minimise the impact of the lockdown.

Teams have seen their revenue streams hit by the lack of action, with Rovers legend Shearer fearing what the implications of no games could be for some clubs.

“One thing that seems certain is that this has changed the whole landscape of football, in terms of salaries and future transfer fees,” he said.

“I hope that does not mean we will see some clubs going to the wall.

“The advance from the Premier League will, I hope, help the lower leagues survive this unprecedented period – but at the moment no-one knows when we will get back to playing again.”

There is a desire on all sides for the current season to be finished, although the non-league divisions below the National League have been provisionally declared null and void. That isn’t expected to happen higher up, but games could be played behind closed doors during the summer months to get the season done.

And Shearer hopes that can be the case, even if it has a knock-on effect on the 2020/21 season.

“Football does not seem important right now, but at the same time we are all looking forward to the day it resumes again,” he added.

“It will be a sign that life is getting back to normal. When it does, I hope we can get this season finished.

“The Premier League has said that it is going to explore every possible angle to try to complete the campaign and will only look at other options as a last resort, which at this stage is the right thing to do.

“I think everyone is trying to be as committed as possible to getting the season finished at some stage, whether that is in June, July or August.

“I hope that will happen, even if affects the start of next season.

“We have to wait until it is safe, though.

“And no-one has any choice but to sit tight and wait, because we are all just guessing when that might be.”