AS we gear up for the resumption of group training at the end of the month, I’d like to look at the challenges facing every single player at this point in time. Rewind to when this pandemic gripped the world. From a sporting point of view we would have been well into our pre-season training.

After Christmas most players would have been back on the wagon with the gym and pre-season work and would have been in full flight. As you pass through the weeks, the body starts to loosen up so by mid-March we would have been moving well.

The next target in our sights would have been the start of competitive league football. When you get to that stage of the year you are into your normal routine. Nights out have slowed down, the diet is under control and you are getting ready to move through the gears.

All of a sudden our sporting diary was tuned upside down. We went from having our week laid out, to having nowhere to train as all pitches and gyms were closed down.

At the beginning we rolled with it and made the most of the freedom but the uncertainty left us in no man’s land.

At first we thought perhaps it would take a few weeks to get things under control but things escalated quickly and at one point it looked like we would have no action at all this year.

During this phase it was next to impossible to keep your motivation up, teams would have sent out programmes for their players to carry out but having the motivation to do those sessions was testing at the best of times.

Normally at this time of year I’d space my nights out and perhaps treat myself to a few pints on a Saturday every four or five weeks. Drinking at home never appealed to me as I’d rather have a bit of craic in the pub, but like most others I know lockdown drinking became the norm.

Anyone who played at a half decent level will tell you that in order to get to the required level of fitness, socializing has to be at a minimum.

When you have a routine and you know you are training say Tuesday, Thursday and then again at the weekend, then you will look after your body and get yourself ready for the next session.

During this lockdown we had no routine so taking the easy way out happens a lot more than it normally would.

Thankfully it now looks like we will have a season after all but for the players this will mean a few weeks of tough work as we start from scratch again and try and get the bodies right for action.

Effectively teams will be starting all over again and it will be strange doing pre-season type work in July.

As players and managers get ready to return to action everyone must do so with caution. The body has been out of its normal routine so it will take some time for it to start moving properly again.

Teams may feel that they need to make up for lost time but the opposite of that may be the right way to go. Instead of going hell for leather on June 29, perhaps just ease your players back into it because if you push the body too hard too soon then you are asking for trouble.

From going from the possibility of having no club football or no county football to now having both again is a massive boost for everyone involved.

Although it will mean a tough slog for a few weeks I think everyone will be delighted to do it. With each passing week players will get stronger and fitter and by the time your club action throws in you should be moving well if your training is timed right.

So as we bid farewell to the lockdown beers and sneaky takeaways we turn our attention to the things that make us play the way we can play – and once again we slowly but surly become creatures of habit.

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