Glenn Murray: Brighton striker says return to contact training is biggest step to Premier League return

Brighton striker Glenn Murray believes the return to close-contact and competitive training represents the "biggest step" to the Premier League's proposed return next month. 

Club chief executive Paul Barber insisted earlier in May that players have to feel confident about their safety and they must be comfortable speaking out about any coronavirus fears.

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Murray told The Football Show a fortnight ago that he wanted to see the Premier League season finish - but stressed the country should wait until it was in a better position to safeguard players and their families.

The Premier League has confirmed the 2019/20 season will provisionally restart on June 17, and Murray says the resumption of contact training - 'phase two' in the government's guidance for athletes and elite sportsmen - has had a major effect in easing concerns.

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He told Sky Sports: "I was one of the players who had concerns over going back into training and I was voicing the concerns of other footballers as well as my own.

"But I feel as though the Premier League have worked with both the players and the clubs to answer those concerns. This is a massive step now, and the biggest step in the process going from a non-contact to contact form of training.

"If we can get through this little period with a low amount of positive tests, it's a massive step towards playing football again."

Murray revealed that training has now returned to normal, following a fortnight in which players were adhering to staggered arrival times at the club's state-of-the-art training facility.

"Now, it's a chance to regain that normal structure that we had before all this came along," he added.

"Training will now be as it was, but obviously with a little bit more thought behind it in terms of doing drills not quite as closely but having those 15 minutes where we can be in close proximity.

"We've had quite a lot of contact with the captains at other clubs and it's all been very positive," Murray continued.

"We've been given the chance to ask questions that either ourselves or our team-mates have felt the need to be answered and they've cleared all concerns to give us the confidence and that's how we've got to the position today of being back into contact."

'Brighton can benefit from no fans at ground'

Brighton have a job on their hands to stay in the top flight and with the team without a win in 2020, lockdown may have provided them with a chance to find some fresh impetus.

Barring training ground and reserve-team matches, the 36-year-old has never previously played a match in a behind-closed-doors environment - but Murray believes the high stakes will generate the same intensity on the pitch.

"We've just got to keep reminding ourselves that the eyes of the world will be watching, even though no one will be in the stadium.

"This is an opportunity to keep Brighton in the Premier League and it's been a little bit of a lay-off for us and a chance for us to regain our composure. We're more of a tactical team this year, and I feel having no fans may be a benefit for our coaches and staff getting instructions onto the field.

"It's given players an extra period to get fit and possibly be ready so we're looking forward to the last nine games and keep our place in the Premier League, fairly."

Murray: Still a benefit to playing at home

Murray has been monitoring how the Bundesliga has made its return over the past fortnight, and the results from three rounds of fixtures suggest Premier League home advantage could be wiped out.

Home teams have won only 19 per cent of games played behind closed doors in Germany - five of the 27 matches - but Brighton have previously expressed their opposition to playing the remaining fixtures at neutral venues.

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The Seagulls are 15th in the Premier League, two points above the relegation zone, with nine games left to play - including home fixtures against Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City.

Murray remains adamant that home and away games should remain in place, adding: "The stats in the Bundesliga suggest otherwise, but I do feel there will be a benefit from playing at home.

"The only thing I've picked up from watching those games is the lack of pressure from the fans. I watched Paderborn against Dusseldorf as I had a couple of friends playing in it, and I noticed that Dusseldorf hit the post on two or three occasions and that pressure as the opposing team would usually start to build on you.

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"I felt, with the fans not being there, that pressure wasn't as significant. It was just another moment in the game and it passed pretty quickly.

"I think it's a sensible decision to bring in five substitutions and we've been given more time than I think we first thought we were going to get before the restart of the season. We'll have had almost three weeks of contact training so we'll have had quite a while to get ready.

"There's going to be injuries and niggles - that's just how it is when you have a quick turnaround - but I think everyone's pretty happy with the amount of time we've been given."

Bennett 'absolutely fine' after positive test

Elliott Bennett, who is a former team-mate of Murray from his time at Brighton, tested positive for coronavirus this week.

The striker contacted Bennett, who is asymptomatic and is feeling no ill effects, and Murray provided an update on the Blackburn midfielder.

"We got in contact last night and he feels absolutely fine. He said if it wasn't for the tests at the football club, he would've never known he had coronavirus.

"So he sees it as a little bit of a positive, and he's looking forward to getting back playing once his seven days of self-isolation are over."