Managers have been warned they face a major battle to keep players fit and motivated during the blanket ban on games.
Mick Clegg, Manchester United ’s former power development coach who worked with stars including Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Ryan Giggs, said clubs face their biggest challenge during the pandemic-enforced lay-off.
And Clegg, whose son Michael – a former United player – is now Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s strength and power coach, reckons players will end up with depression because they cannot train and play.
“It’s a massive challenge and the reason it’s a massive challenge is because players are very dedicated people,” said the 62-year-old.
“They’re dedicated to the way they work on a regular basis. A lad goes into training in the morning and he’s got everything set out for him.
He’ll mix with a lot of different staff and they’ll be directing him into what types of training, so that’s all laid on for him.
(Image: Magi Haroun)
“Suddenly, all of that is taken away, so a lad who’s used to getting ready to perform with the help of others has got to start doing that himself.
“It’s very hard sometimes to self-motivate, to get yourself into the right frame of mind to train on your own.
“There are some great people who can do that. Ronaldo would always be able to train just as hard on his own as he would with a group.
“But most players are not self-motivated – not because they’re lazy but because they’re institutionalised in a way. They normally have everything laid on for them but suddenly they’re on their own. There’s this massive thing that’s happened and they don’t know where it’s going to go, like the rest of us.
“They’re used to being in a group but suddenly they’re isolated and that could lead to depression and anger because, after a few days on your own, it can be really tough.
(Image: Magi Haroun)
“So you’ve got anger and depression to deal with. I remember at United, there might be 10 or 12 players on video games, linked together online. They might be physically alone, but when they’re playing in a group, they’re still working together and bonding, even though they’re isolated. So what I would recommend is that players play these games because they can be beneficial from a mental point of view.
“These are the little things that might make a huge difference, if managers and coaches are thinking along the right lines and being smart in their thinking.”
While Premier League players will have home gyms and the latest technology, those further down the pyramid are unlikely to be so fortunate.
“All the United players, for example, will have everything they need – in terms of the training schedule, equipment and technology – so there won’t be a problem,” said Clegg. “There will be a lot of online training being done by players, via the internet and through smart phones.
“But if you go down the leagues, to other clubs, they’re likely to have less and less opportunity to do that training.”
At this stage of the season, players have reached their peak fitness levels and are already starting to decline, with Clegg warning their condition will now drop even more sharply. “You can’t keep match-fitness without matches – and you can’t be ready for matches unless you’ve done the training prior to that,” said Clegg.
(Image: Magi Haroun)
“At this stage of the season, the fitness levels of players are actually on the way down because having so many matches brings fatigue, physical and mental.
“So, with this break, players are going to lose that fitness even more.
“Any help players can get from their managers and coaches is vital. The personal touch is where managers and coaches have really got to step up. This is where a good manager or coach will communicate with the players.
“Then they can provide players with the support they need. But if they lose that, you could find teams swing from doing really well to under-performing.
“So this is where having real wisdom, understanding and knowledge of players becomes so important, because this is a different situation. We’ve never seen this before.”
