Gordon Taylor has warned there could be a breakdown of trust between players and clubs if dressing rooms are not given full financial disclosure over proposed wage cuts and deferrals as the Professional Footballers' Association chief executive condemned Matt Hancock’s “astonishing” attack on footballers.

Clubs will attempt to broker their own deals with players this week amid frustration at the way the Premier League has handled the issue of pay reductions and deferrals in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.

Tensions are rising between players and clubs after talks over a proposed 30 per cent cut hit a stalemate over the weekend and led to top flight players issuing a strongly worded statement through the Professional Footballers’ Association.

Now Taylor has called on clubs to stop dragging their heels and provide detailed individual breakdowns of their finances to their playing squads as players bid to ensure the money ends up in the right hands and allows them to help non-playing staff, lower league clubs and the NHS as well as safeguarding their own clubs.

“I think if they [clubs] can’t do that and explain the position fully then they have every right to expect players to mistrust what is happening,” the PFA chief executive told Telegraph Sport.

Asked if players were concerned about where their money would go, Taylor said: “Exactly that. They want the complete due diligence. They’re not stupid. They’ve not just got their brains in their feet. They want to know the reasons for it and where it’s going.”