SIMON Francis admitted it had been “tough” to keep Cherries’ squad motivated throughout the coronavirus pandemic – but said he had always been on the phone to offer support.

Cherries have not trained together for almost two months – with the Premier League shut down on March 13 amid the global pandemic.

Premier League chiefs are tomorrow set to further discuss Project Restart – the proposed plan to map out whether the 2019-20 top-flight campaign can be completed.

But with COVID-19 meaning players have had to train from home in recent weeks, Francis has been eager to offer the squad support.

Asked how hard it had been to motivate his troops as captain during lockdown, the 35-year-old said: “It’s been tough. It’s certainly been unique.

“The first week or two, it kind of took care of itself because I think, potentially, we didn’t know the severity of it and how long we’d be in this situation for.

“The longer it went on it started to become more serious.

“That’s when you find a lot of lads who are living on their own. Younger players probably start letting their minds wander in terms of keeping fit and finding motivation, which can be hard and I understand that completely.

“Fortunately, I have two kids to keep me busy and that’s always helped.

“I have just made sure I have been on the end of the phone more than anything. I am always in contact with the lads.

“With everything that’s been going on in the past couple of weeks with our local donation and the Players Together fund, I am always in constant contact with the boys.

“There have been a few Zoom calls as well. Everybody has remained in good enough spirits that they can.

“I just know everyone is itching to get back, or at least get some confirmation or news of when we can get back – if we can this season.”

Cherries at present find themselves 18th in the Premier League, inside the relegation zone on goal difference.

Their most recent contest came with a 2-1 defeat at League leaders Liverpool on March 7.

And full-back Francis admits whatever happens, Eddie Howe’s side will have to be adaptable.

“It’s a situation we have never been in before,” he said.

“When you have your off season, you know the dates when you are coming back to pre-season.

“You know when you have got to build up to that pre-season. You can have a couple of weeks off when the season finishes.

“But right now, you almost have to tick over every single week. You are not sure when we are going to get the call.

“You can’t really take your foot off the gas because we know how important these nine games are to finish the season.

“It won’t be the norm we are used to. It really is very unprecedented times. We have to adapt to it and I’m pretty sure the lads are doing that.”