She Kicks Fitness & Conditioning: How Was It For The Players? (Zaneta Wyne and Hayley Lauder)

Two Glasgow City players describe what returning from lockdown actually felt like. Zaneta Wyne spent it out of contract in California, lifting three-gallon water jugs because the gyms were shut, and adding yoga, mountain biking, hiking and surfing; she signed for City in July and made her debut weeks later against Wolfsburg in the Champions League. She had enough base fitness not to be knackered, she says, but was tight, sore and drained, and did not feel ready – through no fault of the coaching staff. Hayley Lauder, facing a third pre-season inside a year, missed the routine most and realised quickly that she was not football fit. Both picked up niggles – Lauder’s a groin, from running in straight lines during lockdown and then changing direction with a ball.