Ralph Hasenhuttl has spoken to the Daily Echo about his pride in the way his squad have applied themselves since the lockdown period started.
Like those is many occupations professional footballers have had to overcome many issues in lockdown, however the most different one is the need to maintain a level of fitness, unlike those furloughed in normal occupations they cannot just go home and sit back as such and then when the time comes jump straight back into their occupations and carry on, they have to have a level of fitness.
That was not an easy task with the previous limits on exercise, but Hasenhuttl feels his squad have stuck to the training regimes set out for them and have returned to Staplewood in a good condition to start to step up towards match fitness for a return in perhaps a month's time.
Speaking to the Echo about the lockdown period Ralph has said.
"It’s not easy. The only contact we have is through video messages and phone calls.
"Facetime is nice because you can see if they have put some weight on around their face or something like this!
"I like seeing them on the video — especially as they haven’t had their hair cut!
"They are enjoying it, I think. We are all looking forward to seeing each other again and, hopefully, that will be as soon as possible.
"I think they have been very disciplined and they are following the schedule we have given them.
"It’s not easy to find the motivation when you don’t have a target and that’s what separates this break to a summer break; you know that you have to be fit and 100 per cent focused by July.
"It’s easier to lift yourself and this is different for the guys at the moment. But they have been good, and I am sure they can’t wait to be back out on the pitch.”
The players have now returned to Staplewood and are working in small groups under strict medical conditions and the manager hinted that the fittest man back was James Ward Prowse.
"I think everybody knows that Prowsey is always the guy who covers the most distance,” Hasenhuttl added.
"We have a lot of very, very fit players and they are working hard to stay fit.
"They all know we have a very short pre-season - if you want to call it that - to prepare for the last nine games.
"We have to have a good level for when we return, and this is what I expect from them. Anything less would surprise me.”
So now comes a period of stepping up the training, but the real problem for Saints and indeed the other Premier League clubs is the uncertainty of when or even if the season will restart, at the moment all indications are that it can on the weekend of the 12th of June, but that is conditional on the strict government criteria being met and things could change at short notice.