The New Saints players will follow a training programme at home after the club decided to stop training for the foreseeable future last Friday.

Scott Ruscoe’s side will be without a game until the end of April after the Welsh Football Association (FA Wales) extended the fixture suspension for all football.

With six league games left to play, as well as cup matches, clubs could see the season run beyond June, which is usually when European cup competition qualifiers take place.

There has been no word on whether the qualifiers will take place on the usual dates this year, due to the coronavirus outbreak, but the Champions League and Europa League finals, which were scheduled to take place in May, have been postponed already.

The Saints boss is hoping the current break enforced by the FA can give his players the break they need.

“We usually get three or four weeks off in the summer, but the players are going to be off for that amount of time or longer now,” he said.

“I think that could work in our favour, because this might be the break time that the players have needed.

“They’re not completely shutting down, they have training programmes to follow which will help them to stay fit while they’re out of training to keep their competitive edge there and ensure their fitness isn’t lost.

“It could work in our favour because it’s a long break, but at the same time they won’t be playing any competitive football, it’s just running at the moment.

“It’s not an ideal situation for anyone.”

He admitted the club is unsure what will happen next, and said they will await any more announcements from the FA.

“We’re not too sure what will happen really,” he added.

“Obviously the Welsh League suspension was extended again last week, and that’s all we know up to now.

“The Champions League and Europa League have been put back as well, so it just looks like they’re giving a date and having to be practical and move it back as far as they can.

“There’s not much point in giving a date too soon and having to extend it all the time, because it’s clear things are getting worse.”

Despite the disruption caused to the fixture list in the Welsh leagues, and other leagues across the world, Ruscoe re-iterated the importance of prioritising people’s health and well-being, before focusing on sport.

He said: “We finished training last Friday in line with a lot of other clubs.

“This could be the longest break they have had off in a while, back to the days when we used to have about six or seven weeks off between the end of the season and the European games.

“It’s difficult times for everybody, no-one can do anything about it, it’s out of our control.

“We’ve just got to be fortunate that the majority of us are healthy and fit and that the bigger picture, more importantly, is keeping people safe.”