Buried in the choreography of Southampton’s breakthrough on a 10 per cent wage deferral for players, there were hints of the desperate struggle playing out beneath the surface at Premier League clubs.
Southampton’s management team were preparing to furlough non-playing staff on Wednesday night, risking all the reputational damage attached to that term since Liverpool brought a public relations disaster down on their own heads seven days ago.
It was this prospect which extracted a compromise of sorts from Southampton’s players.
It is wage deferral, not a cut — the loss of £6,000 a week for the average player, repayable down the line.