Blackpool chief executive Ben Mansford on today's key vote on EFL's salary cap proposals

Clubs in League One and League Two are due to have their say on the wage cap this afternoon, with the vote scheduled to take place at 1pm.

If voted through, the ceiling for budgets in the third tier will stand at £2.5m and £1.5m for clubs in League Two - with the changes to be enforced for the 2020/21 season.

A margin of 66 per cent is required to carry the motion, which translates to 16 of the 24 sides in each division.

While the PFA has argued the cap is “unlawful” and “unenforceable”, Mansford believes drastic action is required for the good of the game.

“If football wants some help and there are rescue packages and financial assistance from bodies then it will be on the backdrop that any support won’t just go to inflate player wages, it goes to sustainability of clubs,” he told The Gazette on Thursday.

“There’s a strong chance the salary cap will get voted through in League Two and I think in League One it might be a little bit closer.

“There’s a little bit more disparity in the size of clubs but the indications are that the salary cap is still part of the financial fair play landscape that most clubs would like to see developed.

“If I was a betting man, I would say it will go through in League Two and probably in League One too. But we’ll know more on Friday.”

There has been vocal opposition to the proposals from some of League One’s bigger clubs such as Sunderland, Portsmouth and Ipswich Town, who argue the wage cap should be a percentage of income.

When asked if he understands their frustrations, Mansford said: “Yes, potentially. That’s what is difficult about being one member of a 72-club organisation or one member of a 24-club League in that one size does not fit all.

“I think ultimately football finance has to calm and the owners of clubs in the Championship, League One and League Two feel that and Covid has heightened and pushed forward that brutal realisation.

“I do have some sympathy with those clubs but if they are able to generate more income, that gives them the ability to pay higher transfer fees, to recruit different talent, to invest in their academies, sport science and to build better training grounds, I’m not so sure all their frustrations are truly reflective.

“I think some of those clubs might generate a lot of money but they’ve run with some very big cost centres as well.

“I respect all the CEOs at those clubs, I’ve known someone like Jim Rodwell at Sunderland for a long time, but I’m not quite as sympathetic to some of their disappointment as others maybe.”

Another part of the discussions involves limiting the number of players clubs are permitted to have in their squad.

This is another key rule change that Mansford expects to be voted in.

“I think we’re going to have a squad list,” he said.

“This is something that has happened in the Premier League for the last few years with 25 players and there’s talk of taking it to 22 players that are aged 21 or over regardless of whether they’re a club player or a loan player, it will just be an age thing.

“I can see that being reduced down in League One and Two further over the next few years.

“I think if football is going to be helped, then the government will need to see the sport is looking after its finances.

“The sort of wage turnover in the Championship and the rise of wages...I was only away for a couple of years and I was surprised by how far League One wages had jumped. It just isn’t sustainable.

“Squad sizes are part of the financial regulations and the financial fair play landscape as well as the vote on the salary cap on Friday.”