Nottingham Forest's play-off ambitions handed another big boost

Nottingham Forest news: Reds handed another boost in their bid to secure a play-off place with the possibility that contact training could be set to restart next week

Nottingham Forest could be set to start contact training next week in a boost to their hopes of finishing the campaign and securing a play-off place in the Championship.

England's second-tier remains hopeful of returning to action next month, with teams including Sabri Lamouchi's side returning to non-contact training in small groups on Monday for the first time since matches were stopped in March because of the coronavirus pandemic.

With nine matches left to be played by each club, there remains a strong desire from the majority of Championship sides to ensure the season is completed on the pitch.

Forest will be keen to see out the season with the City Ground side sitting in fifth place, five points clear of Bristol City in seventh place as they bid to end a two-decade exodus from the Premier League.

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And now, according to a new report from The Telegraph, the EFL will send proposals for 'Phase 2' training protocols to clubs on Thursday.

The report goes on to claim that a decision is then likely to be made on Monday, with the implementation of the phase, should the vote be passed, likely to come as early as the next day.

Should everything be passed, then that would give clubs at least three weeks of full training, ahead of a possible restart on either June 19 or the 26th.

The EFL board of directors met again on Wednesday to discuss steps to end the 2019-20 season.

EFL chief executive Rick Parry met with his fellow board members and to try and come up with a framework for how the final table should look if the season cannot be completed.

Once that framework has been passed by the EFL board, clubs in the competition will then vote on the plan, with a 51 percent majority needed for each idea to go through.

The Telegraph report also claims that the futures of League One and League Two's were discussed at Wednesday's meeting.

And just like before the meeting, the outcome on how to finish their respective divisions remains up in the air, with discussions with both leagues set to continue over the next few days.