To play or not to play, that is the question facing MK Dons and League One

The fate of League One is supposed to be established tomorrow but like the ending of lockdown, I think we're all taking that with a pinch of salt.

The future of the third tier has been the longest-running saga in the English game, with the Premier League, Championship and League Two already declaring their ambitions for the remainder of the campaign. It's an understandable dilemma though. For the Premier League and the Championship, the sheer amount of money under threat means it makes sense to play the remaining games despite the added cost to play behind closed doors. Likewise, the relative lack of financial incentive on offer for League Two clubs to continue playing means it also makes sense to draw a line under their season, allowing the play-offs to go ahead. But League One is a different prospect.

For clubs at the sharp end, the Championship carrot dangling in front of them is not orange but in fact gold - the money on offer for a spot in the Championship is huge. But for those not in the promotion fight - MK Dons included - the money it would cost to play the games (an estimated £500,000 according to Dons' Executive Director Andrew Cullen) would be better spent simply keeping the club alive.

Peterborough and Sunderland have been the most vocal in their desires to get the season up and running again, and we can all see why - they would miss out on the play-offs otherwise. For both, missing out on promotion would be costly. And with eight or nine games remaining, anything could still happen. Similarly, Tranmere at the other end of the table are rightly keen to play on. Their form was on the up before the postponement in March, and Rovers fancied their chances of clawing out of the bottom three to avoid an immediate return to League Two.

But the number of teams who want to play on are likely to be drowned out by clubs who want to cut their losses and move on to next season. Southend and Bolton are effectively relegated anyway, and given their financial turmoil are unlikely to want to stump up a lot of cash to have the same fate confirmed. Likewise, Coventry and Rotherham in the automatic spots are expected to vote in favour of their automatic promotion without kicking another ball.

Dons' turnaround in the four months since Russell Martin took over from Paul Tisdale as manager saw them go from relegation fodder to a team edging their away towards safety and the threat of the drop, while still there, was shrinking by the game. Chances are, if they had to make a decision, Dons would vote to end the season and move on to the next but in the interests of competition, they are equally prepared to play on should that be the case.

If and when an announcement is made on the future of the division, and whichever side of the fence it falls, there are reasons why it has taken so long. Fingers crossed we can get back to normal soon.