IT SEEMS widely accepted that if things do progress positively with regards to the different phases of training when we get back to playing matches they will initially be played behind closed doors – which will take some getting used to!

What makes the Premier League so special is the incredible atmosphere and fans that attend games week in, week out. It will be incredibly strange walking out of a tunnel and seeing an empty stadium before games – though of course, it’s for the safety and well-being of everyone in the country. 

One thing that is for sure is that you’ll all be hearing us very clear at home! You’ll hear the different instructions being shouted at one another from the boss and the rest of the boys, which will hopefully give insight into how we communicate and work as a team.

It will be a completely new experience for me personally, as I’ve never played a competitive football match behind closed doors, especially in the Premier League.

Things such as celebrations will be a lot different compared to a few months ago. We will have to restrain ourselves from giving a teammate a hug or a high five after they’ve scored a goal. Instead, it’s likely going to be a case of making sure we keep our distance at the same time. 

It’s incredibly tricky, as football is such an emotional sport – if you score a late goal to win a match, your natural instinct is to celebrate wildly with the rest of the team, especially at full-time too when we would all congratulate one another. 

Saying that there have been occasions in the past where we’ve trained at St Mary’s on a weekday before so we are somewhat used to playing inside an empty stadium.  

I’ve been tuning into the return of the Bundesliga, like many of you have too I’d imagine, and firstly it’s fantastic to see football return safely and have some live sport back on our TVs. Watching the games, it’s been interesting seeing how they approached it. 

In our exploration of whether we can get football up and running again in this country, I’m sure there are lessons they can share with us that will be very useful.

In a behind closed doors scenario, we would undoubtedly miss the amazing supporters but I guess it’s just another aspect we have to be prepared to adapt to!

Have a great weekend guys – enjoy the weather and stay safe!

Macca