The worldwide coronavirus pandemic has stopped football in its tracks, leaving hundreds of professionals joining the rest of the UK in lockdown.
The lack of routine brings its own set of problems for footballers, who are used to getting up and going to training every day, and preparing for matches at the weekend.
Here, Sportsmail has collected the thoughts of professional footballers from across the Premier League , Championship, League One and League Two to see how they’re dealing with the football shutdown …
Football clubs up and down the country are locked and there is no football on the horizon
Who are the footballers?
Ben Heneghan (Blackpool, on loan from Sheffield United)
Jobi McAnuff (Leyton Orient)
Mike Jones (Carlisle United )
Nicky Adams (Northampton Town)
Anwar El Ghazi (Aston Villa)
Dion Sanderson (Cardiff City, on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers)
Tyler Roberts (Leeds United)
Brandon Haunstrup (Portsmouth)
What are you up to during the lockdown?
JONES: You do things you wouldn’t normally have time to do. I don’t always get to see my little boy that much – you’ve always got to look on the bright side of life. I try to enhance my learning in different areas on the computer that I wouldn’t normally have time to do.
The weirdest feeling I have is that I’ve found that I really don’t have a life without football.
Anwar El Ghazi, Aston Villa midfielder
I’m trying to put myself out there for a little bit of volunteering work with the elderly. You’ve got to improvise. I spoke to my dad and he said to go for it. He sent me a link to the Daily Mail campaign and I’m in the process of doing that.
It’s about being there for the people who need it. And it’ll keep me busy if anyone needs my help. Any shopping, anything. If I only get one message to help one person then I’ll get satisfaction from that.
Aston Villa’s Anwar El Ghazi says he has realized he doesn’t really have a life outside football
EL GHAZI: Training is suspended and right now I’m still at home. It’s a really strange feeling. The weirdest feeling I have is that I’ve found that I really don’t have a life without football.
McANUFF: I have found that trying to create a new routine to give you a bit of a focus has been really helpful. With the kids being at home, it’s been nice to have that time with them and I’ve certainly found that has helped.
Having their schedule and working to that, you keep yourself occupied clearly physically and mentally. Everyone else seems to be dealing with it OK too and obviously it’s very early days and we’re not sure exactly when we will return.
HENEGHAN: I’ve been reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad – a book about investment and starting your own business , by Robert Kiyosaki. In times like these, it is always worth having one eye on the future.
MASSEY: Well, it’s certainly not the usual routine I’m used to. I wake up in the morning, change some nappies and stick on Bloomberg at 7am to see what’s going on with the money markets. I haven’t even got a clue what they’re saying but it’s a learning process for me.
My agent has got vast experience in that sort of thing. We were talking last week and he advised me to have a look at why things are being affected by the coronavirus. How can a pandemic like this affect the whole world, like the airlines and the banks?
I’m trying to get my head around it and understand how something like that can have such a negative effect. We bought some shares in BP and if I make a little profit here and there I want to give it to charity. Today I donated some money to the National Emergencies Trust. Anything I make will be to help with the situation that’s going on.
Wigan’s Gavin Massey says he is watching Bloomberg and studying the financial markets
I stick on Bloomberg at 7am to see what’s going on with the money markets. I haven’t even got a clue what they’re saying but it’s a learning process for me
Gavin Massey, Wigan Athletic winger
HAUNSTRUP: Learning that football won’t be around for a while, I’ve found myself watching previous games that I’ve participated in more. I do this a lot during the season anyway. I think as a psychological element, it helps keep me confident in my mind that I am a good player.
It also reminds me of what I need to be doing and what I need to be working on to enhance my fitness, whereas if I’m sat on my PlayStation constantly or watching TV all day , I don’t feel as though I’ll have the correct mindset to enable me to improve my physical condition as I’m not thinking about football.
ADAMS: I can’t sit still and I don’t really like being on my own. The ACL I suffered previously has definitely helped me deal with this. My missus is great and we’ve got four kids so they are keeping us busy. I leave the home schooling to her! My job is play-time … football and boxing in the garden.
SANDERSON: Well, what I’ve been doing is looking back at my previous games and analyzing myself: What could I do better? What do I need to work on? Even watching other players, for example.
I watch defenders in my positions such as Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk and Dani Alves at Sao Paulo. I study how they play the game, what they do and try to add it into my game. It’s very important to keep the mind ticking as well as the body during this difficult period.
Cardiff City’s Dion Sanderson says he is spending time studying the world’s best defenders
How are you keeping fit?
EL GHAZI: Usually you get up and go to training, and you are already busy preparing for the next fight, the next match on a Saturday.
Now I get up and jog a little, do some exercises in the garden, but I don’t feel like I ‘m getting anything out of the day. It indicates that football is really my life.
HENEGHAN: That’s a massive part of my life at the moment. To try to keep my mind occupied, I have been doing a couple of work-outs a day. There is a gym set up in my parents’ garage and I do plenty of work on the punch bags, as well as cardio.
I run between 5k and 14 k every day when we’re allowed out for our one form of exercise. In terms of kicking the ball, there’s a pitch not too far away and I’ve taken the football out a few times.
I run between 5k and 15 k every day when we’re allowed out for our one form of exercise
Ben Heneghan, Blackpool defender
McANUFF: Football is quite a unique environment. You spend a lot of time with people – like in other walks of life – but there is an intensity to what we do. Your whole training week is built up to peak for that match and now you don’t have that release.
I’m sure there will be lads out there who do struggle with that motivation but in the WhatsApp group lads are posting good sessions, scores, distances and times and everyone wants to keep up with that.
ROBERTS: I’ve been working hard. I believe I have a lot of self drive so when I am doing my sessions my brain doesn’t allow me to skip things or take shortcuts because for one, it makes me feel guilty and two, I believe if you are going to do something then you may as well give it 554 per cent and improve from it.
JONES: We’re using the Strava app and our fitness coach has been great. At my age, 50, you know what you can do and when you can do it. Nobody really knows when we’re going back but it’s a self-pride thing to keep on top of yourself.
Ben Heneghan (right) says he is running between five and (kilometers a day to stay fit)
MASSEY: It’s going to be difficult for the majority of footballers. Most of us just want to play competitive games. We enjoy training and the fight on the Saturday. Without that end goal it’s a bit blurry, but you know you have to train because you’re a professional and it’s your job.
This scenario is a bit different because you’re not in a routine. Everyone’s in the dark with what’s going on.
HAUNSTRUP: There’s no doubt this isolation period is proving a tough test, particularly with so many things unclear for the near future and beyond regarding football. There automatically a lack of motivation to be able to keep up fitness due to the obvious lack of environment and equipment which comes with the isolation period.
Staying indoors is hard when you have been so deep into a routine with football. To have that regime taken away from me it’s tough, it feels like I have nothing left
Dion Sanderson, Cardiff defender
At home I do not have the equipment which you would find at a training ground or the space in which a training ground would enable. A lot of thoughts have rifled through my head, one of those being: ‘I need to stay fit to be able to compete once this issue is resolved’. With that in mind, I’ve been completing workouts: during the day, ones for strength and then, at night, I’ll complete a 5km run.
ADAMS: It definitely is difficult from a football point of view. We have to be ready for when we’re told to go back. It’s different for everybody as to how they’re dealing with it. Football is my life and training on your own is not ideal but you’ve got to get on with it. Follow the plans from the fitness coach and tick over.
SANDERSON: Staying indoors is hard when you have been so deep into a routine with football. Waking up early, training in the morning, doing gym in the afternoon. To have that regime taken away from me it’s tough, it feels like I have nothing left.
As a footballer, it’s important to almost stay in a routine, you know? Waking up early, going out for a run, keeping yourself busy.
McAnuff has been keeping up his fitness and his ball skills away from the training ground
Do you have financial concerns?
HENEGHAN: Yeah, of course. I’m out of contract at Sheffield United and my loan spell at Blackpool finishes at the end of May, so it is a particularly uncertain time.
Everything is up in the air. Nobody knows what’s going to happen – whether we are going to continue this season, whether it is going to be voided.
They are worrying times. Everyone is carrying on, trying to look after their families as best they can, following personal fitness programs, just trying to keep your mind busy.
McANUFF: Absolutely. All the talk of pay cuts and wage deferrals elsewhere would certainly be in the minds of the bulk of players in League Two, League One. Even in the Championship – lads are earning very good money there but it is all relative.
There are older lads who have mortgages, kids and at this level people aren’t on ridiculous sums of money. Whether it be a 30, 70 per cent reduction, that’s a hell of a cut in anyone’s world
Jobi McAnuff, Leyton Orient midfielder
People live to a certain standard and in normal circumstances they’re not anticipating having to potentially take a reduction when they are contracted for a certain period of time. Most footballers have a good idea of what’s going on around the country and the world and we’re not going to be immune to the financial implications, I’m sure.
It is something that will concern not just younger lads, there are older lads who have mortgages, kids and at this level people aren’t on ridiculous sums of money. Whether it be a 30, 70 per cent reduction, at Birmingham you’re talking 79 per cent which is a hell of a cut in anyone’s world.
ROBERTS: Much has been made about Leeds’ squad taking a wage deferral but in times like this, thinking about the sacrifices NHS staff and other workers are making, we as players felt it was the right thing to do.
There are greater sacrifices being made out there which deserve everyone’s utmost support.
McAnuff says there are definitely financial concerns for the players in the lower leagues
HENEGHAN: I don’t know what my situation would be if the season started again in the summer. We read different stories about short-term contract extensions across the board but until something like that is made official, it is impossible to make plans. You just want the reassurance of having an idea of what is going to happen.
At times like these, there are financial worries for everyone. This is the job we chose but still, everyone has bills they have to pay.
Have you been offered any help from the PFA?
HENEGHAN : You can ring the PFA if you need to and talk things through but there is only so much they can do, until an actual decision is made about what the future looks like.
As a loan player, it is hard to know what will happen. It’s difficult for the clubs, too. There are so many players in Leagues One and Two that are on loan from elsewhere, so if their parent clubs decided not to extend those loans into the summer, it could have a huge impact on squads.
At Leeds, we are top of the league and eager to finish the season because we know we can make history and it’s in our hands so that’s a big motivation for me every day
Tyler Roberts, Leeds striker
McANUFF: Yeah , they have been helping. They’ve been quite good in offering their services from a psychological point of view. Our manager Ross Embleton has also been very active in terms of saying: If anyone does need to talk, if there is anything people need then they’re very much there.
We have a woman who predominantly works with the youth team but she’s obviously available for any first-team players as well to speak to. I know some of the lads have used her in the past and still do.
Obviously Martin Ling, with his own mental health issues in the past, is very proactive on that side and is constantly letting us know of any developments. I think that’s the biggest thing – just trying to have as much clarity as possible in a pretty murky situation.
Tyler Roberts says that as Leeds are top of the league they are anxious for season to resume
How have you been keeping positive?
ROBERTS: This period that we are in has tested me in ways I never thought I would encounter. The uncertainty of when the league will start again and the amount of training time we will get before games.
The hardest thing for me as a footballer is working towards an unclear goal or the time we are allowed back training. At Leeds, we are currently top of the league and eager to finish the season because we know we can make history and it’s in our hands so that is a big motivation for me every day.
Making sure that when we get the all clear to come back that I am in the best possible condition that I can be to help the team cross that all-important finishing line.
HAUNSTRUP: It definitely is really tough. I think there is that fear about testing positive for coronavirus, that’s just natural now. At Portsmouth we have had five players Ross McCrorie, James Bolton, Andy Cannon, Haji Mnoga and Sean Raggett all test positive. The main fear for me is passing it on to people who are more vulnerable to it. You’ve got to just stay safe, and stay fit and healthy, and get through it with the help of your friends and family.
There’s nothing worse than sitting in staring at your phone. It is boring, don’t get me wrong, and there are times in the day you want to be back with the lads and focused on the next game
Mike Jones, Carlisle midfielder
MASSEY: I started football really early at six-years-old and the average retirement age is , so you dedicate your life to playing football and don’t really think about life after it. That’s how a lot of players can suffer from depression and things like that.
They’re used to waking up in a routine, going to training to playing matches. After football, once it’s done it’s done. There’s nothing to do. You have to try and keep busy and stay as positive as you possibly can.
SANDERSON: There are some footballers that break down because they feel like they have nothing when they are not at football. They start to get lazy, wake up in the afternoon, miss out on days they should have trained and that’s because of the self-isolation, being by yourself. Yeah, it’s nice with the family around the house but it almost drains you of motivation to carry on training.
It’s important you find a way to keep yourself motivated and set yourself targets. I have to see it as an opportunity to work on myself, work on my fitness, improve my responsibility, taking ownership of my work and my training. It’s all about staying motivated, knowing what you want in the end. It’s very important to keep the mind active as well as the body. It has been said a lot about football that it is played in the brain.
HENEGHAN: Well, having family around definitely helps. Since I joined Blackpool I’ve been staying at my parents’ house in Warrington, as it’s easier than commuting from Sheffield every day. It is such an unfamiliar situation – like having your summer holidays, but without being able to go anywhere or do anything.
Carlisle’s Mike Jones says there is nothing worse than sitting inside staring at your phone
JONES: There’s nothing worse than sitting in staring at your phone. It is boring, don’t get me wrong, and there are times in the day you want to be back with the lads and focused on the next game.
It’s all about staying positive. Taking the mick is good, just what we do on a daily basis in the changing rooms. We’re all in the same boat, aren’t we?
Nicky Adams, Northampton winger
I have my little man half the week and then the other half I’m on my own. If there is anything in your life that you get enjoyment from you should focus on that. For me, it’s looking forward to seeing my little man.
Generally, it’s been a bit mixed really. The few days on my own is when you get to do that little bit of exercise and boredom kicks in, but you find ways to keep yourself entertained and try to be productive.
ADAMS: It’s all about staying positive. We’re all in group chats, having a laugh and trying to stay upbeat. Taking the mick is good, just what we do on a daily basis in the changing rooms. We’re all in the same boat, aren’t we? We’ve just got to get on with it. The most important thing is people health and their safety. Every one of us knows that.
The lowest point of my career was when I did my ACL a couple of years ago at Carlisle. I was out for 15 months, so my mindset is to use that experience in this situation. Mentally, that was a big challenge for me. There were some very dark times in those first few weeks. I didn’t cope with it well. But I’m not that sort of lad and didn’t want to be beaten. If I can get through that, I can get through this.
Has diet been a problem without a routine?
HENEGHAN: Luckily, I’d already given up chocolate and sweets for Lent so I’ve been able to stay careful with my diet – lots of fish and brown rice, trying to keep it as lean as I can and keep my body fat down.
ROBERTS: I think so, yeah. Being at home with not much freedom and a lot of restrictions makes it challenging to try and continue your usual routine of waking up, training, eating right, staying healthy and remaining motivated to do fitness work.
And a word for our amazing NHS staff …
ROBERTS: The NHS are doing a remarkable job. All of the people risking their health and lives to help others is amazing to hear and see.
I hope this time doesn’t last too long and we all stick together and think about others at all times so we can keep as many people as safe as possible. Everything that is going on has made me realise how much we need to be thoughtful of others and to keep healthy at all times.
HAUNSTRUP: Wow. The strain and pressure they face everyday and how they cope is something I have nothing but the upmost respect and admiration for. They are the ones who deserve all our support.
How difficult it must be for people who have caught the virus, how difficult it is for workers in these conditions and especially our amazing health care service .
NHS staff have been working around the clock to deal with the massive coronavirus outbreak
Ultimately, the one thing this on-going scenario has made me realise is not everything in life is about football. It’s a reminder to me and a realization that health is a factor which I have underestimated and underestimated severely.
Wow. The strain and pressure they face everyday and how they cope is something I have nothing but the upmost respect and admiration for. They are the ones who deserve all our support
Brandon Haunstrup, Portsmouth defender
Seeing the destruction this pandemic has caused has made me realise that good health is the No 1 priority and an essential to being happy.
JONES: The NHS are doing a tremendous job for the country. There is a bigger picture and time will heal. The country coming together a bit. Not everybody, including myself, took it too seriously to start with. I think I had it myself, I had symptoms and had to isolate for a week. My mum and dad aren’t well at the moment.
As footballers, obviously we miss it, that day-to-day with the lads and the normality, but you quickly realise there are a lot of people worse off in the world. Nobody is being asked to stay at home forever. It won’t last. We’ll be out the other side and be back to our daily routine, hopefully, quite soon.
MASSEY: The NHS is struggling at the moment. My doctor at the football club works for his local practice and he says how difficult things are. Footballers can help in such a way definitely. I’m one of them and I’d love to help.
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