Barrow AFC’s players will finally be returning for pre-season training next week, but it will be unlike any experience they will have gone through before.

The days of making players run to the point of nausea after their break away from football are long gone anyway, although one ‘normal’ ritual still remaining is the body mass tests the players must go through to show they’ve been looking after themselves.

These will be taking place in Manchester today, but rather than the squad coming in all at one, they are restricted to six players arriving at staggered times via a one-way system, while the physios will have to change the callipers and their apron after each test.

When the players return for training itself at Hopwood Hall on Monday, the first week will be limited to non-contact drills in small groups as part of phase one of Covid-19 protocols.

Phase two involves contact training, again in small groups, before the squad is allowed to return to full contact training after around ten days.

The players will be receiving their new training kit for the 2020/21 season today and they will be required to arrive for training in their kit, rather than use the changing rooms, and their temperatures will be checked on arrival.

Balls used in training will be disinfected at the end of each day.

For now, this will have to be the new normal for Barrow’s players, who in the case of striker Scott Quigley can’t wait to hit the ground running again.

Quigley said: “I think we’re all ready to go. Pre-season is coming up and for us, it’s ‘head down’ time.

“No-one has really been away - I think the majority of the lads have stayed in England - and I’m just ready to rock and roll now and see what League Two holds.”

Quigley met the Bluebirds’ new manager David Dunn face-to-face for the first time during the team’s National League Trophy presentation last Wednesday and has since signed a new three-year contract.

The 27-year-old is likely to be a key figure for Dunn after scoring 20 goals to top-score in the National League during AFC’s promotion campaign under Ian Evatt.

Quigley said: “It was nice to put a face to the voice on the phone and hopefully he can take us forward in the right direction, which I think he can.

“Obviously, he’s had a great playing career and he’s another young guy who’s come in and is looking forward to having his chance in management.

“Hopefully the lads can do him favours and we can do the same again as last year. Let’s just see how far we can go with the club.”