Arsenal Women's boss Joe Montemurro says he welcomes the chance for his players to recharge their batteries during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The Women's Super League followed the Premier League in shutting down in March as a response to the outbreak. The Gunners squad is therefore currently unable to train together with its members complying with lockdown guidelines.
That does not mean that they are inactive, however, as Montemurro pays close attention to their physical and emotional health during these exceptional times.
"Like most teams and most professional athletes, it’s something different and it’s something strange, and obviously they’ve had to change their ways and make sure that they’re doing the right things within the constraints that are there," he explained to reporters.
"But as far as we’re concerned, all of them have been fantastic and the staff have been fantastic too. They’ve really made sure that first of all from a holistic Arsenal perspective, that the well-being of the staff and players has been the paramount thing here. The most important thing from the Arsenal Women and staff is that we’re available and we’re there to help.
"Whatever the players need, we’re there to make sure that we can give that little bit of comfort and knowledge that they need in these times, and so on, so on. The important thing is that we’re available and willing to help in all scenarios, but from all reports and the discussions we’re having on a weekly basis, all is going well."
The period leading up to the league's suspension had been hectic for the Gunners, and Montemurro believes there could be unexpected benefits to the lockdown.
"They’ve all been given individual programmes, but in all honesty we’ve had a tough two and a half years physically. A lot of our players have come out of Euros, World Cups and winning the title last year, so it’s been a tough two and a half years for a lot of these players," he added.
"We’re quite happy for them to do their programmes and keep their individual fitness going, but also to take this time to refresh, relax and recalibrate, which I think is even more important in this stage.
"It’s a great opportunity to do that and it’s a great opportunity for us to be creative in this environment at the moment, but in terms of just checking, we’ve got all of our staff members who have a group of players that they check in with on a regular basis, and I check in with them on a weekly basis, that’s including our staff meetings and player/staff meetings.
"It’s a balance of that but also individual programmes because we have some players coming back from rehab from injuries and so on, so they’ve taken this time to really get right. All in all, it’s been positive.
"I think it’s the perfect time to really reconnect with family, reconnect with friends and it’s a time to really focus on things you probably haven’t been able to do in a while. Take the time as a positive, take the time as an amazing opportunity to give back and as I said, maybe to do those things you haven’t been able to do.
"From a football perspective, we hope that you learn to love the game by being away from it. I definitely have. I’ve definitely found a real love for the game by being away from it and not being able to do the day to day stuff. I’m sure bigger and better things will come from it, we just have to stick together."