How Wigan Athletic squad are keeping in touch during lockdown

The squad are continuing to work on their own individual fitness programmes from home, with all football in England having been postponed until April 30 at the earliest.

With the situation worsening across the world, that ‘return date’ is looking less and less likely – and Cook insists there are far more pressing matters.

“Initially, from my position as a manager, the break has probably done a lot of squads the world of good,” he acknowledged.

“We’ve all had injuries, fatigue, all kinds of things building up, and a week off from that is usually fine.

“As we go further into a more prolonged period of time, there’s the reality of individual programmes, culminating hopefully in that date where we can start playing football again.

"But the most important thing at the moment isn’t football, that’s for sure.”

Cook has revealed Leam Richardson has also been playing a key role in liaising with the players during their time away from the training ground.

“I’ve not been speaking to them all every day, Leam’s been doing that,” Cook added on Sky Sports.

“They have a WhatsApp group where they exchange all that information.

“But we have to try and keep it as simple as possible, because we know the lads have families, parents, everyone.

"And it’s a very important time for everyone to pull together at home.”