How emojis are helping to keep team spirit high in the Sheffield Wednesday camp as coronavirus isolation continues

The Owls have now not trained for a month, but full-back Liam Palmer has reported that the squad are in constant contact and that huge efforts are being made to keep morale high within the camp.

The Scotland international told the BBC: “We’ve got the typical WhatsApp group, lads are putting things in there and the emoji quizzes are quite popular. Somebody mentioned about doing a Zoom quiz as well so we can all be face-to-face.

“The club have been great and everything is there for us. The coaches have been allocated players who you liaise with, we’ve all got our programmes and things and I’m lucky I’ve got some equipment in the garage.

“I’ve been trying to mix it up between road running, using the weights and getting on the bike and things.

“But nothing fills that day-to-day void, that structure. We have to keep self-motivated.”

And a jovial Palmer admitted that footballers are not exempt from the strains of working from home.

“I tend to do my work when the kids have gone to bed at around half seven, eight o’clock and have a few hours on my own and get it done,” he smiled.

“If I do it during the day, I’ll set up a circuit in the garden and they’re joining in, messing up all the equipment, skipping ropes and that!

“You can’t really get done what you want because they love to get involved!”