Jon Grey | We have training plans for the players, but safety comes first

Jon Grey says Swansea City’s Under-23s squad are maintaining their fitness from home while they follow individual training programmes issued by the club during the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.

But the interim head coach has made clear that the safety and well-being of players, staff, fans and their families are the sole priority during these unprecedented times.

With Fairwood Training Ground closed in line with the latest guidance from the Government and healthcare authorities, the development side are currently observing individual training and conditional plans from the safety of their own homes.

The football season was recently postponed until April 30 at the earliest, meaning it will be a while before the under-23s resume their Premier League 2 Division 2 season.

Grey hopes it won’t be too long before his players are back on the pitch doing what they do best.

Although, the under-23s coach acknowledges that the health and wellbeing of everyone at the club remains the top priority.

“It’s a scary time at the moment; nobody knows what’s going on and things appear to be getting worse rather than better,” he said.

“All we’re interested in is the players’ health and well-being and that they stay safe and look after themselves.

“All the under-23s have been given an individual programme that will enable them to train from home. They also have a conditioning plan that they can work on in their own time.

“It’s important that the players just follow the guidelines provided by the club and the NHS.

“They’re fit young men and they’re all sensible.

“It’s terrible to see all the families that are suffering at the moment but, hopefully, everybody at Swansea City stays safe and well and we get through this and get back training and playing as soon as it’s safe and possible.

“Touch wood, we’re all safe at the moment and that’s the most important thing.”

But Grey has remained productive during the enforced break, which has enabled him to switch focus and concentrate more on his other role within the club as the academy’s head of coaching – a position he combines with his under-23s duties.

He has also been catching up on the progress of the players currently out on loan in the likes of Jack Evans (Mansfield) and Brandon Cooper (Yeovil).

“It’s given us all a chance to recharge a little and has allowed us to catch up with things that were a little more difficult with the workload,” he explained.

“I’ve had more time to catch up on some of my other work in my head of coaching role.

“I’ve also been able to watch some of the players on loan through the footage provided by their loan clubs.

“The recruitment team take care of that but, from a coaching perspective, it has been a real positive for us to be able to watch.

“The negative is that you want to get on the training field every day, but people’s health and safety is much more important at the moment.

“Hopefully, we can all stay safe and get through this.”