JAMES Ward-Prowse admitted he found behind-closed-doors games “difficult to get used to with the lack of atmosphere” as Saints prepare for a first return to empty stadia this campaign.
James Ward-Prowse said: “Yeah, maybe. I think that was the one thing that was difficult to get used to at the start was the lack of atmosphere. But once you’re in the game and in the moment you soon forget about it and have to concentrate on your job so we will see, it’s an ever changing time and at the minute we don’t know.”
Russell Martin’s second division outfit have not played a competitive fixture for almost a month due to COVID postponements. The last time they ran out was a 4-1 defeat at home to Nottingham Forest on December 11 – a result that made it three successive defeats for the south Wales side. Meanwhile, Saints also saw disruption with winnable St Mary’s fixtures against Brentford and Newcastle both postponed due to cases in the opposition camp.
James Ward-Prowse added: “The situation with COVID is very difficult. It’s changing all the time, day-to-day. We don’t know what restrictions are going to be in place or what’s coming next. All we can do is control what we know we can control and that’s adhering to the protocols and making sure that everybody is safe within our bubble, and to ensure that we have as many fit players ready and available to play. Fans or no fans, we are used to it both ways.”
