ABDALLAH Lemsagam faces a backlash from his first team squad for the way potential wage cuts have been handled during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Oldham Times understands the Latics owner is looking to put his players on furlough using the Government’s Job Retention Scheme and has warned he will not be topping up any wages.

Furthermore, players say they have been threatened with wide-scale redundancies if they do not agree to the plan.

In what has become a strained situation, a handful of the squad are believed to have accepted Lemsagam’s offer but many senior players are outraged at the way the situation has been handled.

The EFL and Professional Footballers' Association have proposed that clubs in Leagues One and Two defer up to 25 per cent of players' wages in April during the lockdown.

It is widely accepted that a blanket agreement to cover all clubs is improbable as clubs in the bottom two divisions have vastly different budgets and playing staff.

But the league’s advice suggests that players earning less than £2,500 a month should be paid in full and that any reduction in wages must not take a player below earning that amount.

Latics placed a “large majority” of non-playing staff on furlough at the end of March, including manager Dino Maamria.

The scheme sees the Government cover 80 per cent of wages up to £2,500 a month. Boundary Park is also closed.

Dubai-based Lemsagam is currently out of the country with managing director Natalile Atkinson overseeing Latics’ day-to-day operations.

When contacted by The Oldham Times, the club declined to comment.