Aston Villa defender Tyrone Mings: Players facing battle to maintain focus

Players who typically become accustomed to a regimented schedule during the season have been plunged into a period of unprecedented uncertainty along with the rest of the population, with matches not expected to resume until June at the very earliest.

Mings claims players are having to strike a balance between staying in shape without overdoing it during what promises to be an extended break.

“It’s strange at the moment, nobody knows what’s going to happen,” he said. “Nobody knows if we’re going to finish the season or play with fans, there are so many questions and hypothetical situations that could or couldn’t happen,” he told The Football Show.

“It’s really strange not being able to play football but not being on a summer or winter break and not being able to relax, really. I can only talk from my part in this, and that’s to keep fit, stay motivated and be ready for when the season starts.

“That is probably the hardest thing for players, everybody connected to football at the minute, the unknown, the uncertainty about what is going to happen, what the season and football industry is going to look like and what we are going to come back to.

“All we can do is try and prepare as much as we can, balance staying fit with not burning out and making sure we are fresh and ready to go when we return to training and when the season restarts. But this also allows for a period of reflection, a chance for us players, managers, clubs to set new goals.”