Interview

‘It’s been interesting and challenging at times’

Kim Little

Despite having less contact with her team-mates than ever before, Kim Little believes that lockdown has only made them closer.

There have been highs and lows for all involved, as they strive to maintain full fitness from home, but through constant communication and supporting one another, they’re in good shape and already looking ahead to 2020/21.

“There’s nothing we can even compare it to, so it’s certainly been interesting and challenging at times, but I think it also just emphasises how adaptable we all are when circumstances change,” Little told Arsenal.com.

“This is the biggest change any of us have ever seen from being in the middle season to it abruptly stopping, and then being restricted in so many ways by what you can and can’t do is really difficult too, but I think it’s really highlighted what a great group of girls and staff we’ve got here because of the way we’ve adapted and supported each other.

“Throughout lockdown we’ve been provided with the right flexibility and the right environment to help us keep training and keep our minds focused just in case the season did start again. We’ve all found it difficult at times, but we’ve adapted and tried to make the most of the situation.

“That’s probably been the biggest difficulty for all players throughout lockdown, having that feeling of the unknown, but also kind of knowing in the back of your head what’s going to happen. But despite those thoughts in the back of your head, you know you need to keep training to stay fit so that if you’re asked to come back, you’re at the right level to play games and perform at your best. But as the weeks went on, it increasingly seemed like what has happened now was going to happen, but we didn’t have any clarity on it, so it becomes a real challenge to motivate yourself every day and maintain your focus.

“For me, it’s been a little bit different because I’ve been rehabbing and that’s given me something to focus on, so my mind wasn’t really on playing games, it was on making sure I’m fit and ready to go again, whenever that may be. I guess it’s allowed me to deal with lockdown in a fairly positive away.”