Here's how Portsmouth could gain promotion in as little as 40 days

That’s the time-span laid down by league chairman Rick Parry, with June 6 touted as a possible return date for football.

But Pompey chief-executive Mark Catlin believes the campaign could be wrapped up in as little as 40 days - and here’s how.

League One sides have as many as 10 games to complete of the regular season - with the Blues having nine league fixtures to fulfil.

Catlin believes a 35 day-period amply provides enough time to play those fixtures and has forwarded the idea of a one-legged play-off semi-final, with a final to wrap up the season at a neutral venue.

With May 16 the current earliest date to return to training in the EFL, the plan would get the season wrapped by the end of July using current official dates as the guideline.

Catlin said: ‘I think there’s a way to shorten the 56 days, but that’s where we leave it to the EFL.

‘They have the information and facts about what can and can’t be achieved.

‘But let’s just say there’s 10 games to go and you did two games a week.

‘In 35 days you could complete the season and then roll into a play-off situation.

‘If there was one semi-final and a final you could get that done in five days.

‘Technically you could get it done in six weeks, which brings it to the middle of July from a June 6 start date.

‘This is just me thinking out loud and doing the maths.

‘The 56 days in an orderly fashion would be the first week in June (to complete by the end of July), but you could go down the route of condensing it 40 day or maybe 45-day period.

‘If you did that you wouldn’t necessarily have to start until mid-June.’

There has been the suggestion forwarded in some quarters the League One season could be finished in as little as 28 days, but Catlin stated he’s heard no official talk of that nature.

He added: ‘56 days is the last I heard. That’s the last official communication I had.’