Fulham's Tom Cairney has opened on the difficulties of having no routine in his life with football currently paused due to the coronavirus breakout.

The spreading virus has caused all professional football in England to be suspended until 30 April at the earliest and with the severity of the illness increasing in recent days, footballers have stopped going to training and have been given specific programmes to follow at home during the pause, like the rest of the United Kingdom.

Cairney, whose Fulham side were in good form and just six points adrift off the automatic promotion places prior to the break, admitted that he's struggling without football, but is grateful for the extra family time he's currently enjoying.

Talking on the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast with Max Rushden and Jamie O'Hara, the Fulham skipper said: "To be honest I’m really struggling (without football). It’s really difficult because footballers are so used to routines, schedules and being told what to do every minute of every day, so it’s been a bit of a change.

"But at the same time we’re in a fortunate position compared to what a lot of people are going through at the minute so I think we’ve got to look at it like that and take the time with the family that we don’t normally get. It’s the timings of things – we get in at 9, have an omelette at 9.30, have treatment at 10, outside at 10.30, and it’s the change to that.

"I don’t know what time to get up, I don’t eat regularly – you’re normally just preparing for the next game so when it all gets taken away you have no purpose – it’s a really weird feeling."

The Verdict

It's hardly surprising to see footballers struggling from switching to regular training and competition to sitting around the house doing little all day.

Having said that, Cairney is the captain of the club, so he should still be leading by example and be able to maintain some sort of structure in his life until the season resumes, otherwise when the campaign does get back underway the Whites man will be even more disorientated having to adjust back into the athlete lifestyle.