Drogheda United's Jack Tuite staying focused as football gets put on hold until June

Football has taken a back seat in recent weeks with the outbreak of Covid-19 on these shores – and it has had a major impact on those plying their trades in the League of Ireland.

Recent Drogheda United recruit Jack Tuite – who just joined from First Division rivals Cabinteely – is one of many who has seen his usual day-to-day activities halted by the ongoing spread of the virus.

“It’s pretty frustrating I suppose for everyone,” Tuite told extratime.ie.

“We were getting underway with the league, and myself with Drogheda but in the grand scheme of things football isn’t a priority.”

The former Derby County trainee has also seen his fitness company, fit for 45 had to close for the time being due to safety concerns.

“We started in May last summer with two outdoor classes, one on a Thursday night and the other on a Saturday morning.

“At the start we got 15 people on the first night and I remember standing there at five to six before it was going to start, and my brother, mother and godmother were only there.  

“But ever since then it has just taken off and we now have three classes a week and we’re getting good numbers.

“That’s obviously after stopping now but hopefully the interest will be still there when this is all over.

“We went online to do a class on Instagram at the usual time we do a class and we had 40 people logged on for the whole session.

“It was good to see people interact with the videos and there’s still plenty of things people can do like going for walks and runs. We’ve just been encouraging them to do that.”

And on the Drogheda front – Tuite has detailed how the Boynesiders are monitoring both his and his teammates fitness levels.

“Drogheda are tracking our runs to make sure that we’re keeping up our fitness levels. It’s hard and unmotivating when you’re not sure for definite when you’ll be back.

“I know it’s been said that we’ll be back in June – and even if we are back then we don’t know for definite. It’s frustrating but what can you do.  

“As professionals if you want to be playing at the top level you have to be doing these things yourself and properly. I think all the lads have bought into that.

“We have a good squad that will buy into it and stay fit because we’re in a position where we started off well in the league and we want to kick on again.

“Whenever it restarts, we want to go again, and all the lads will be expected to do the work now to stay fit.”